Friendship is a War of Attrition
by Krampus
Summary: One cannot simply throw five girls from utterly different planets together and expect them to get along instantly. Let the conflict begin. Eventual shoujoai
1. Arrive

**Friendship is a War of Attrition**

One cannot simply throw five girls from utterly different planets together and expect them to get along instantly. Let the conflict begin.

* * *

Arrive

_To understand Mars Rei- to really understand her, you have to know a certain amount about her past. It's the same for anyone, actually, because no matter who you are, it's where you've been and what you've done that really makes you 'you' in the end. _

_So if you aren't absolutely shocked when she hands you her weapons for safe keeping, or appropriately touched when she fights someone for you it's because you don't know enough about her fiercely self-sufficient warrior upbringing or of the protectiveness which is her greatest outlet for affection._

_In other words, you have not studied 'The Way of Rei'. Not that I, or anyone else, could claim to truly understand such a many-layered, enigmatic person. But to ever hope for a clear glimpse into her psyche you need to know how her life as Princess of Mars began, and the circumstances that led to her arrival at the Moon.

* * *

_

The Queen of Mars died when Rei was still a very little girl and her father, though he was a well loved king, wouldn't have known how to raise a son, much less a daughter. So her raising was left to compassionate priestesses. They took Rei in willingly, sensing the clarity and strength of the little girl's aura, and trained her in meditation.

For years, the little princess stayed in the cold temple, and though psychic powers were not officially recognised on Mars, the priestesses guided the young girl subtly, teaching without appearing so, to the point where Rei could concentrate her thoughts into actual visions. Quietly, she would chose to sit in front of the main temple room's fire, her shoulder-length raven hair reflecting the flickering light, and let the disjointed images filter through her mind.

Before she could acquire any sort of skill at these arts, however, her father entered back into her life, pulling her out of this life of quiet contemplation and simple chores,and dropping her into a mould for the life he felt she should lead. Mars was a planet of warriors and its princess would uphold that glorious image.

Rei was nine when she first witnessed the crash of battle and the carnage that her people delighted in. Standing comfortably in the back lines with a massive escort while her father joined in the fun, she watched the armies of Mars converge upon their enemies and decimate them mercilessly. The young girl understood, then, the fervour of her people. She tasted and approved of the wild, passionate energy that the fighting inspired and let herself become swept up in the feverish bloodlust that characterised her planet's people. War was indeed a wonderful thing.

The next few years of her life were consumed by training in swordplay and hand-to-hand combat, grooming her to be the warrior princess her family desired. Occasionally, Rei would catch herself staring idly into fires, held by the hypnotic sway and the tranquil trance that began to come upon her. But inevitably, she was steered away from this part of herself, external pressures and expectations barring her from pursuing the meditation she now hardly remembered.

Her days were consumed with lessons, strengthening and practice. She studied complex manoeuvres and battle formations, learned a variety of underhanded fighting tricks and when to use them, took archery and horseback riding (sometimes at once) and skirmished daily with soldiers many times her size. Her mentors in each area watched her grow with anticipation as they witnessed her flawless attack form and the cold intensity in her amethyst eyes. Rei, in turn, watched the people around her with jealousy as they boasted and reminisced about glorious battles in days gone by. The Martian Princess was eager to take part in war herself. There was not a man or woman on Mars who had not willingly enlisted into the armies at some point in their life. It was the strong common thread that bound their nations together, and the populous thrived on it.

Finally, her trainers deemed her ready, and when she was twelve, Rei was thrown head first into battle.

The empty, arid plains of the Martian wilderness were inhabited by tribes of savages. Occasionally, they banded together to send raiding parties to the cities or barracks, where they were soundly defeated each and every time. The Martian armies could have stormed the expanse of their planet and cleaned the barbarians out in a matter of weeks, but preferred to let them stay there and amuse themselves with the pitiful attack forces.

It was one of these raids that Rei was dropped into the midst of. The chaos and panic in the furious mêlée scared her at first and she relied upon the men surrounding her. At length, she entered the fray in earnest, engaging an enemy soldier who thrust at her with a spear. Her training had more than prepared her for this and she fended him off easily, returning her own attacks. Her first strike was tentative and her second cautious, but her third had enough force to punch through the man's armour and find his heart mid-thrust.

Amazed at what she'd just done, Rei jerked her blade out and was spattered in the ensuing, crimson spray. The wounded soldier fell dead, while the men around her cheered at their Princess' first kill and encouraged her to quickly claim her second.

Feeling dazed and a little overwhelmed, Rei just stood where she was and tried to wipe the blood from her eyes. Another of the enemy was coming at her, intent on ending the black haired girl who bore the insignia of Martian Royalty. She let him come, unfazed and fearless. There was a numbness spreading through her, mind and body. She watched detachedly, as if it were someone else's arm that swept across in a broad arc, slashing the life out of the man before her. It was a cool, all-powerful feeling that permeated her to the core.

While the armies around her clashed and screamed, bled and attacked, Rei unflinchingly cut down anyone foolish enough to come her way. And all the while, a voice in the back of her mind demanded, where was the passion her people thrived on? Where had the hot excitement gone? She felt none of the irrational courage all Martians were swept up by, only power and emptiness.

The battle was over quickly, the Martian army having stomped out all resistance as expected. Furious feasting ensued, no thought given to washing up or mourning the dead. Rei was borne into the dinning hall and into her father's presence upon the jubilant shoulders of the men who had fought beside her. They regaled their King with accounts of her prowess in battle while they fought over the best cut of meat and let the alcohol run freely. Silent, and still numb, Rei sat near the head of the table passively as she was honoured and toasted from the enthusiastic and increasingly drunken warriors she was destined to rule. Over the course of the evening, even her father deigned to thump her on the back and growl, "I expect great things from you, daughter of mine."

It was only much later, as she prepared for bed and the horrific scenes replayed themselves in her mind, that Rei felt her stomach lurch. Stumbling out of her room, she hit the floor before the toilet just in time for it to catch every disgraceful morsel of vomit that passed her lips. It seemed like an eternity that she kneeled there all alone, retching and coughing until nothing came up, while the things she had experienced came back at her, assaulting all her senses.

Afterward, as she lay on the bathroom floor trembling and sweating, she came to a realisation. This was her life. Anyone else could have sworn off fighting, gone on to live a peaceful life and suppressed the painful memories. But not her. This, this fighting, this puking, this sick feeling, this was to be the rest of her life as Princess of the Planet of War. Short of fleeing the kingdom, there was no choice for her, and Rei had never been one to run from her problems.

So she stayed and she fought. Bit by bit, the numbness she felt in battle spread to all other areas of her life until she was colder than the subzero nights of her planet. From the moment she woke to the instant her head touched her pillows, Rei could not help but slip into that space, that frame of mind, where she saw everything and felt nothing. People were unnerved to look into the young girl's eyes and see such profound dispassion.

This was not the attitude her people were expecting or accustomed to from their rulers. She showed none of the weakness that the Martians despised, no, she was unquestionably strong, but the people who watched her in battle knew she possessed none of the ravenous hunger they did. There were those who wanted to question this trait, but there were hardly grounds to do so. Rei was sure to never slip up in public, and as long as she participated in a regular amount of battles, the people were satisfied, their doubts cast aside.

And so the fighting continued. Battles broke out between clans and against the savages. There was even talk of instigating something against Venus while at the same time, testing the waters against Jupiter. Mars it seemed, would do anything to start a new war.

Rei, however, paid little attention to the politics of Mars. For lack of anything better to do, she spent her free time training. She was in the archery yard lining up a tricky, hundred-yard, seventy-degree angled shot whena royal edict from Queen Serenity arrived in the form of rather intimidated messenger. The man fidgeted as he explained to her how the people he had asked for instructions had led him in all different directions until he was horribly confused, wandering around for hours looking for the King of Mars.

Taking pity on the messenger and also indulging in her curiosity, Rei took him to see her father and along the way, was informed that she- the Princess of Mars- was to present herself at the Moon without delay to live there. She and several other princesses were to enter under the service of the Princess Serenity.

Many a new curse word was added to Rei's already expansive knowledge of swears when her father received this news. This was no polite suggestion or cordial invitation that Mars could ignore like usual- this was an order from the lips of the Queen herself. To disobey would be treason. Even Mars and its ridiculously large army would never dare commit such an act.

So, grudgingly, infuriatedly, bitterly and with many mutterings, Rei's father dourly ordered her to don her armour and leave everything else behind. If the Palace couldn't provide for her properly, then that would be a fine excuse for him to bring her back to Mars.

Rei made her way to her rooms and ordered a servant to help her suit up. Her royal red lacquered armour was scratched and worn from much combat but fit her perfectly. It was a fearsome image she portrayed when she wore it, cold eyes shadowed by her helm and her young, slender body empowered by the blood coloured plates. Seeing her sinister reflection in a mirror, she decided against wearing her helmet and tucked it under an arm on her way to join her father. He gave her a quick glance and, satisfied that his daughter looked the part he desired, the King of Mars led his only child to the awaiting escort.

There, standing in a tight square, were the four Royal Guards sent to escort her to the Palace of the Moon Kingdom. They shone in Rei's eyes like guardians of hope and light in their beautiful, gleaming armour with capes of unsullied white draped down their backs. Under a more critical examination, she knew that the armour they wore had never seen battle and that it probably wouldn't hold up if it did. The swords tucked into glinting sheaths at their sides were ninety-nine percent ornamental, and the fact that they wore capes at all was open to ridicule. Still, Rei liked the image this all presented- beautiful, pure soldiers. Warriors who did not fight.

Her father's derision was near palpable as he stepped forth to be greeted by them. They bowed low murmuring 'Your Majesty' in unison. With a snort, the King of Mars casually ignored them and turned to his only child. Laying a hefty hand on Rei's shoulder, he growled, "It's unfortunate that you have to go, when I would rather you stayed and fought here, but it can't be helped. Show Serenity and her pack of court pigeons where Mars stands in this Kingdom."

Rei nodded proudly. With a final pat on her shoulder, the King gave the escort a curt nod and then turned and strode off in clear dismissal.

"Princess Mars," said one of the silver warriors, "we will take you to the transporter now."

She nodded her acceptance and they fell into guard positions around her. Rei wanted to freeze the moment and try and decipher what she was feeling. Trepidation, there was definitely some of that as well as not a small amount of excitement. Maybe hope as well? Hope for what, though? She knew not what to expect of the Moon for Mars held its ruling planet in contempt, but if this escort was anything to go by, perhaps there was something there for her.

Either way, Rei would be glad to escape the fighting for a while. She was always, always fighting here, and for what? She wasn't warring for or against anything she could give a damn about. She was tired of fighting, tired of seeing men bleed out on a field already sopping with blood, tired of standing in the shower waiting for the gore in her hair to rinse out, tired of waking in the morning with brittle eyes, knowing she had cried sometime in the night.

She smirked with dark humour. A battle weary fourteen-year-old. Other cultures might have found it appalling and pitiful. Her own would have spurned and disgraced her if they found out.

The transporter was enclosed in a white stone building. The silver platform that hummed with foreign technology had been Mercury's gift to the Silver Millennium. They stood on all nine planets of the Moon Kingdom and served as two-way portals to the Moon. Rarely was the one on Mars utilised, but the cobalt-haired guard that ran a check through its systems declared it to be in perfect working order.

They all stepped on to it, Rei glancing about somewhat apprehensively. How was this supposed to work? The Moon was millions of miles away and this silver platform was going to take her there in a snap? She studied the shiny metal under her booted feet. It didn't look too special-

Suddenly there was noise all around her, the steady, droning buzz of dozens and dozens of voices carrying separate conversations. Rei's head snapped up to see people milling everywhere in a huge, white walled building. How in the Nine-Hells had they gotten here without her noticing?

Massive crowds of people were moving about their way, either coming from or going to a transporter pad and carefully not stepping on the silver circles that littered the area. The flash of blue Mercurial hair was visible in the sea of people, as were the long, swift strides of Jovians. Audible every now and then was the light, tinkling laughter of Venusians that mixed with the overall cheery voices of Moon dwellers. There was no evidence of Martians anywhere, which was fine with Rei- her people expected things she didn't want to give.

The throng of busy individuals near their transporter pad seemed to have paused in surprise at their arrival. Rei assumed it was because of the silver guards, or perhaps because Mars so rarely deigned to interact with the Moon. It never occurred to her that her own outlandish armour and intense stare stopped them in their tracks. She casually ignored the people passing who gave her curious, speculative glances as they rushed along their way.

"This way, Princess Mars." Her guard spoke.

Mutely, Rei followed her escort as they carved a path through the crowds and led her out of the transport terminal. They exited the building into bright sunshine and clear, fresh air and followed a paved path lined with dense vegetation and striking flowers. Rei found herself squinting against the brilliance of everything. She made sure to open her eyes fully when the palace came into view.

If there was anything the people of the Moon could all take pride in, other than their Queen, it was the palace. Tall, gracefully constructed and gleaming with the purest of white marble, the Moon Palace was a sight that none forgot in their lifetime.

The only word the decorative guards heard the stoic girl utter that day was a soft and wholly reverent, "Woah."

And so it was that Rei arrived, jaded but quietly hopeful, at the shining white palace of the Moon Kingdom.

* * *

.o.o. 

So . . . Tell me what you thought, what you liked, disliked, what you want to happen, what you had for dinner . . . whatever, just drop me a review.

Cheers.

Krampus


	2. This Apple Fell Miles From the Tree

This Apple Fell Miles from the Tree

* * *

_It is said that one never gets a second chance to make a first impression. As far as meeting my fellow Inner Princesses went, I find that statement remarkably accurate. After our first encounter, I was nearly certain that I would be spending the entirety of my stay on the Moon hiding in the library. The Venusian was far too different, the Martian made me feel nosy and the Jovian intimidated me._

_Despite these factors and my initial plan to avoid these strange girls, I was inevitably drawn toward them. Or, perhaps we were all simultaneously attracted to Serenity for reasons I used to find baffling. Of course, it could have just been the mandatory classes and the trips to the five planets that forced us to reconcile our discrepancies. Either way, I look back on our first meeting now with certain mirth and fondness, but no longer any judgement. _

* * *

Through what seemed a maze of marble halls, white walls, burgundy carpets, crystalline windows and high ceilings, Rei was led by her quartet of silver guards. They finally ascended a set of stairs to a long hallway and stopped before a closed door, which, once opened, revealed a plush, ornately decorated office and two people seated behind a desk.

Rei was about to enter the room, when the sound of a soft whimper stopped her. Glancing swiftly up the hallway, she saw a blonde girl standing with her head pressed against a door, looking at them slightly pitifully.

"Um, could someone help?" she asked, her voice laden with embarrassment.

One of the guards detached himself from their unit and walked over to the distressed girl. Rei didn't hear what he said, but the girl whined in reply, "She thought it would be funny. She's so mean! And it's locked, too, from the other side."

Looking closer, Rei realised the girl wasn't just leaning against the door. Her long blonde hair, put up in two little lumps on the sides of her head, was actually shut in the door. Nonplussed, Rei vaguely wondered who this dolt was. She couldn't have been much younger than herself, and judging by the fine clothes and impractical hairstyle, she was some sort of noble.

"Come along, Princess Mars. This will be taken care of," one of the guards murmured.

The trapped girl noticed her then, and looked up to offer a weak smile, which Rei made no attempt to return. She was not about to strike up conversation with an idiot stuck to a door. Nodding to the guard who had spoken, she proceeded into the room, noting that as she turned away, something like a flicker of horrified recognition flashed in the blonde's eyes.

The office was vast and elegantly decorated, tall windows letting sunlight pour in and fill the room. The only thing that made it office-like was the desk facing the door behind which two women sat.

Rei had never seen the Queen of the Moon, but she knew the woman on the left with the soft eyes and delicate features to be her. To her right, a green haired, tan skinned woman stood and presented, "Her Majesty, Queen Serenity."

The queen's hair was set in the same style as the girl stuck to the door, though hers appeared to be longer and of a different colour. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rei pondered whether occurrences like the one she had seen just outside happened frequently, but she could never imagine this regal, composed woman suffering anything so undignified.

The queen stood and turned the full weight of her gaze upon her, and Rei felt something in her mind twist. Standing in the woman's presence, she could begin to understand why the Kingdom had remained unified so well. This woman, this queen, she had something that others couldn't possess or understand. It was as if . . . as if she could take you and give you all your impossible little desires and . . . dreams. There were dreams in her calm lilac eyes.

Foreign reverence touched Rei's voice as she bowed and murmured, "Your Majesty."

"Princess Mars." A small, genuine smile graced Queen Serenity's features and the Martian found herself yearning to return it, to just let a smile reflect on her own face and shine back. So she scowled, mentally scolding herself for letting some softy queen affect her so much.

If the serene woman was at all taken aback by Rei's sudden hostile expression, she did not show it in the slightest. "We are glad you came. We were not sure whether Mars would send-"

The tall, tanned woman cleared her throat softly and gave a pointed look.

The queen smiled faintly and switched track. "We have rooms prepared for you in the permanent residency wing. You will be near the other princesses there, and a page will always be on hand if you need something."

Rei, having toned down her frown to an impassive mask, nodded and then added, "Thank you, Your Majesty. If I might ask-"

Queen Serenity held up a hand. "I know you desire to learn why you have been summoned here, but I will not explain until all the princesses are here." She gestured to a boy standing nearby. "Pleiades will show you your rooms."

The young boy nodded eagerly and stepped off toward a set of doors near the back of the room. With a final glance at the queen and her soft, all-knowing eyes, Rei followed him.

Her calculating mind and impatience were stirring up questions she itched to have answered, questions for the pageboy who kept looking uneasily at her blood red armour.

"Who are the other princesses?" Rei asked him.

Pleiades gave a nearly imperceptible start and answered quickly, "Just you and one princess from the each of the rest of the inner planets, ma'am."

Her eyebrow twitched involuntarily at the word 'ma'am', but she wouldn't begrudge the page his formality. "What about the outer planet princesses?"

"Oh, they've been here for years, ma'am."

"Why is that?"

This seemed to be beyond the page's scope of knowledge. "I don't know - something to do with closer ties and unification in the Kingdom. I don't know." He threw his hands up and gave a shrug. "Politics all fly past me, ma'am."

"So, am I the only one here yet?"

"Oh no, ma'am, Mercury has been here for nearly a week and Venus got here a couple days ago."

"And Jupiter?" she prompted.

"Well, ma'am, I don't know about her, but I've heard they can't find her."

Rei made a small, 'hmmm', noise at that and said no more until they reached her new room, where she thanked the page and entered.

Her suite, decorated in the Martian royal colours, consisted of a sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom. The sitting room was the first room to be entered from the main door. It was nicely furnished, owning a fireplace, a table, plush chairs and a soft couch. Her bedroom was equally fine, holding an enormous bed draped in burgundy hangings and duvet. In the corner was a closet packed with silks and fine clothes she would have to inspect later.

Rei wouldn't have bothered examining the adjoined bathroom, but glancing over, she saw a door on the far side. To her surprise, the bathroom was quite large and held two sinks, was supplied with two sets of toiletries and there were two stacks of cloths and towels.

The other door, she assumed, led to someone else's bedroom, so she left it alone.

Instead she stepped out onto a balcony that opened from her bedroom and gave a very bright, picturesque view. Rei could see a wide sparkling lake dotted with sailboats and vast, green grounds littered with buildings and people. A warm wind blew, and Rei took off her helmet and shook her dark hair out.

She thirsted to see more of this place which was at once foreign and comfortable to her. Her helmet was chucked onto the bed and she left her room.

Careful to remember the turns she took, Rei wandered the palace curiously. Her travels discovered a ballroom, a massive dinning hall, the servant's wing, the guest wing, the throne room, an office wing and countless other rooms along the way. Rei was impressed by the sheer size of the palace, if not so much by the people inside it, who eyed her armour warily and inched away from her everywhere she went.

The last place she found was the library. Like the rest of the palace, it was magnificent. Its rounded walls were lined with thousands of books, stretching up to a domed ceiling and the center of the airy room wasoccupied by tables that seated studious scholars.

She was drawing uneasy glances again. Rei disliked the sensation of nervous eyes following her, but to snap at the people staring would likely increase the attention she was receiving. Glaring at any who would meet her eye, she turned her back and perused the book-lined walls.

Illiteracy was not uncommon on Mars. As long as you could follow orders from your commander, you had no need to read or write. One of the few things Rei could give thanks to the Temple for was that they had taught her to read. She doubted she would have learned otherwise. Still, her skills were rusty from lack of use and she had to spend a moment reading each title.

A slim silver book caught her eye, and she pulled it out to flip to a random page.

"_. . . Silver Millennium signifies an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity under rulership of the Moon Kingdom._

_It began after centuries of feuding and outright war between the inner planets in which Mars and Venus sided against Mercury and Jupiter. Various economic disputes over Earth had started the fight, but nearing the end, these factors were forgotten in the pursuit of revenge. _

_Backed by the Outer planets, a treaty was proposed by Serenity I that would both end the disagreements and protect the prized planet Earth. Mercury quickly agreed to the terms and Jupiter soon followed. Mars was prepared to continue the battle, but when Venus capitulated, they were forced to abandon . . ."_

Rei put the book back. She turned to quit the library and nearly ran into a ladder propped against the wall. Looking up slightly, she saw a girl with blue hair standing on the second rung. Her arms were loaded with books and she was reaching for another.

"Here, hold these," she commanded suddenly, thrusting her stack of books back at the Martian princess without looking over.

"Are you so incapable of holding them yourself?" Rei demanded.

The blue haired girl gave a startled jump, nearly died of shock, and would have pitched herself off the ladder by accident had Rei not grabbed her arms to steady her.

"I'm sorry," she said, very flustered, "I assumed you were the page from before . . ." Her blue eyes took in the daunting armour that no page had ever worn. "Clearly, I was mistaken."

Rei let go, and the Mercurian descended from the ladder.

"It's fine." she assured the girl.

The girl nodded, transferred her books to under one arm, and held out a hand to shake. "My name is Ami. I'm the Princess of Mercury."

Rei's eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly. She had not expected to run into one of the other princesses so soon. She shook the proffered hand and said, "Mars Rei." It was the practise of Martian royalty to take their planet as their last name, making their status a part of their identity. Rei had not expected the foreigner to know this, but by the surprise on her face and the slight nod she gave, she did indeed know of her rank.

"You have but recently arrived, yes?" Ami inquired while setting her books down on a nearby table.

"Yes."

Ami took a seat and Rei followed suit. "I had surmised as much from your attire. Have you not been taken to your rooms yet?"

"I have," Rei confirmed, "but I didn't think to change while I was there." She glanced about the library, where the majority of the library's occupants wore the robes of scholars. "What are we expected to wear?" she wondered.

The Mercurian gestured to her own clothes – robes much like a scholar's. "These are the style worn by my people at home, and Venus has likewise been given what she would ordinarily wear. I assume you have been supplied equally." She looked askance at Rei's armour. "Though, I highly doubt . . ."

"I don't always wear this." Rei said curtly.

"Ah, of course . . . I've just recently begun my research on Mars, you see." She looked chagrined at not having mastered Martian culture.

Rei was not interested in speaking about Mars and said nothing. Her silence seemed to make the blue haired girl uncomfortable. Taking pity, she asked, "Have you studied the other planets?"

Ami stopped fidgeting and brightened. "Yes! And they're all quite fascinating! Jupiter, in particular, I found highly interesting and very different. I wonder when the princess will arrive."

Rei shrugged and informed her, "A page - Pleiades, said they don't know where the Jovian princess is."

Ami considered it for a moment and Rei could almost see the workings of an analytical mind. "It is possible." she said slowly. "Jovians hold court only once every solar rotation. The habitually wander the planet as they please."

Rei tried to imagine such freedom. "Sounds nice."

The blue haired girl laced her fingers together and studied them pensively. "Yes, at times I would be inclined to agree. But is such a lifestyle truly one which a responsible monarch can afford to lead? How do they effectively rule their people if they're forever lost in the wilderness?"

Rei shrugged, finding the topic only faintly interesting compared to the other girl's reaction to it. "I wouldn't know, but it must be working. No civil wars or unhappy stirrings have ever been seen on Jupiter."

"True," Ami conceded, and then asked, "Does Mars experience these problems?"

She gave no external indication to her discomfort, but Rei cringed inside at the direction she could see this conversation taking. "No, no, Mars has really only got one problem . . ." If she was lucky, the Mercurian would leave it alone.

"Ah," Ami perked up at the prospect of new knowledge. "The warring clans! Is it true you've been fighting for the past millennia?"

"No. Only six hundred years." Few would have detected the distaste in Rei's voice, and Ami, it appeared, was not among them.

The blue haired girl scribbled something on a paper in front of her and then fired off another question. "Is the target of each war the ruling clan?"

"Mostly."

"And the clans are numbered-?"

"Twenty-eight."

Ami jotted all this down, probably for future study, an excited smile on her face. "You know, I haven't found a single book that contained this simple information! That's a bit of a peculiarity, for I was fully able to research the other planets back home. Then again, I've not hardly begun my reading here." Her gaze turned rapturous as she took in the never-ending rows of tomes and novels.

Rei nearly smiled at Ami's obvious enjoyment of pursuing facts and data. "I doubt you'll find much, even here. Mars does not allow visitors."

"Because of the dangerous battles?"

Her near grin never came to fulfillment. "Yes." she said flatly.

"Hmmm. Have _you_ ever fought in-"

Rei stood abruptly and grabbed her chair to keep it from tumbling over. "I have to go."

Ami blinked at the curtness and lack of explanation as Rei wheeled around to leave. Swiftly, she queried, "Have you had words with Serenity yet?"

"The queen?" Rei turned and asked.

"The princess." Ami clarified.

"No." She looked a question at the Mercurian, but only received a polite, blue-eyed smile and silence. Rei frowned at this, but Ami simply returned to her books.

Finding this portentous, the Martian left the library and was glad she had memorised the way back to her room, for she got there quickly and without getting lost.

Upon entering, she removed her previously discarded helmet from the bed and set it on a nearby table. She then unbuckled the armour from her forearms and shins and set those pieces down as well. The only other pieces of armour she wore curved over her shoulders and down her back and they could not be removed without assistance, which Rei did not feel like summoning.

With a sigh, she hit the bed and stretched out comfortably. It was through no conscious decision on her part that her eyes began to drift shut, though she did let them close for a second.

* * *

"Princess Mars?"

Rei awoke.

"Princess Mars?"

The light coming through her window had dimmed considerably since she last blinked, casting the room in a soft, golden hue. At the door, someone was knocking politely and calling her in a youthful voice.

"Princess Mars, if you are there, please answer this door."

Rolling out of her warm nest of blankets, Rei padded out of her bedroom and through the sitting room to get the door. She turned the handle and opened it to reveal a young pageboy dressed in a crisp palace uniform. Not Pleiades, but another of the hundreds of palace pages. He bowed his flaxen head respectfully and said, "Princess Mars, you were missed at dinner tonight."

Rei frowned at the expectant look on the young boy's face. "Dinner?"

His expression changed to surprise. "Y-yes, you were not informed? Princess Serenity was supposed to invite you to the private dinning room this evening." At Rei's deepening scowl, the page offered, "Perhaps she forgot . . ."

"Forgot?" Rei repeated.

The page shifted uncomfortably and began inching away. "I – I shall inform her that, er, that you are displeased. I'm sure she would love to explain herself . . . in person . . . instead of sending me . . ."

The boy was halfway down the hall by now and with a little bow, he spun and nearly ran the rest of the way. With a derisive snort, the dark haired girl closed the door.

Rei contemplated what to do now. She could just go back to bed, which was tempting, or she could go in search of a meal herself, which would likely result in her getting lost, or she could find this Princess Serenity and tear her a new one . . . which would definitely be the most satisfying choice.

With a sigh, Rei stepped into the expansive bathroom and began to ready herself for bed. Turning the tap on and cupping her hands beneath the flow, she wet her face and washed up. The dark haired girl was patting her face dry with a hand towel when she heard the click of a door. Startled, she looked up to see a girl her age entering from the door on the other side.

Rei recognised her as a Venusian immediately. The girl's most noticeable feature, shared by the majority of her people, was the shinning golden hair that fell down her back in perfect sheets. After that, it was a toss up between her brilliant blue eyes and her wide, charming smile. She was easily the most beautiful person Rei had ever seen.

The girl took a moment to look Rei over as well and her eyes lit with enthusiasm. "Wow, I've never seen a Martian before. Are you all so attractive?"

Baffled, Rei blurted, "What?"

The blonde grinned coyly. "Never mind." She extended a graceful, well manicured hand. "I'm Princess Minako of Venus."

"Mars Rei," the shorter girl said shortly and clasped the dainty, soft hand with her rougher, calloused hand. Rei made a small noise of surprise when Minako pulled her forward to plant light kisses on both her cheeks.

"Pleased to meet you! Let's go get dinner!" The blonde skipped happily out the door and started down the hall.

Rei walked quickly but dignifiedly to catch up. "I thought dinner was over."

"Well, yes, it is. But you don't mind eating in the kitchens, right?"

Rei shrugged as though it did not matter to her.

"Great!" Minako said and favoured Rei with a pretty smile. "Oh yeah, Serenity wants you to know that she is truly very sorry about not telling you. She feels really bad about it." Minako informed her on their way down a flight of stairs.

Rei gave her a very flat look. "If she feels so awful, why doesn't she apologize herself, instead of sending her underling to do it?" she demanded.

"I'm not an underling!" the Venusian protested.

"Right," she drawled, her lip curling derisively. "You just happen to run around doing her dirty work for her."

A pouty frown appeared on the blonde's face. "You're rude." she accused.

"You're a lackey." Rei riposted.

"Not a lackey!"

She smirked. "Not rude."

Minako wanted to retort that this was absolutely false, but she knew that it was what Rei was waiting for. Gnashing her teeth, she sped up, determined not to snap at the other girl for being so damned composed and smug.

They walked the rest of they way in silence, which Rei was fine with. By the time they reached the kitchens, Minako seemed to have completely forgotten her previous bad humour and held the door open for Rei to walk in.

"Find the utensils and I'll get you the food." Minako said and wandered about, searching in likely places.

Rei watched the blonde from the corner of her eye as she searched through drawers for utensils. Minako opened pots and cupboards, moving about the kitchen with a grace that bespoke comfort in her body, which was slender and long legged, as opposed to Rei, who was short and scrawny.

_Well she doesn't puke her guts out on a weekly basis_, Rei brooded, aware that she was jealous of this beautiful blonde in front of her. She shook her head to clear it. She was Mars Rei - she had no reason to envy a ditsy, pampered girl from a gassy little planet.

Finally, Minako peered into a pot on the stove and discovered the leftovers of dinner. She grabbed a plate to put it on and set the meal before Rei, who muttered a quick thank-you, and ate without reserve while maintaining impeccable manners.

Meanwhile, Minako took a seat and attempted to sweeten Rei's disposition towards the Moon Princess. "I know she shouldn't have forgotten to tell you about dinner, but I'm sure you'll like Serenity once you meet her. Everyone does."

"I doubt it." Rei said obstinately. "What sort of princess forgets her guests and then doesn't bother to apologise?"

"Well . . ." Minako searched for a counter argument. "She's just . . . young. And besides, Serenity is the kindest person you'll ever meet, guaranteed."

Rei scoffed. "Kindness gets you nowhere. And last I heard, Serenity wasn't even a year younger than I."

"Oh." Minako looked as though she hadn't expected Rei to know this. "Well . . . every month counts?"

"I'm so sure." They sat in silence once more until, surprisingly, Rei put down her fork and spoke again. "The princess doesn't have the same hair as her mother, does she?"

"The odangos?" the blonde laughed, "Aren't they great? So useful . . ." She grinned slyly to herself and then turned to the shorter girl. "How did you know Serenity looked like her mother?"

"Er, never mind." Rei turned back to her food and took a rather large mouthful, signalling the end of the conversation.

Minako might have pursued her question, but at that moment, the door to the kitchen swung open and a handsome young man walked in. He looked about confusedly and, spotting the two girls, smiled and asked politely, "Does either of you ladies know where the library is?" He gave a charmingly self-deprecating smile. "I'm horribly lost."

Minako sprang to her feet and was at his side in an instant, grinning up at him happily. "I know where it is! Let me take you!" She slid her hand smoothly into his and pulled him out the door without a backward glance.

Rei blinked, let a brief wave of irritation pass over her, and finished her dinner. Her frustration returned when she stepped out of the kitchen and realised she hadn't the foggiest idea of how to get back to her rooms without that annoying blonde.

She started in the direction she thought the rooms were, growing all the more aggravated when all the halls and staircases looked alike to her. Where in the Nine Hells-

A tremendous crash sounded behind her and Rei spun. Toward the end of the long hallway she stood in, a tall, mud-covered girl was picking herself off the ground where she had fallen after taking a corner too quickly. Once she regained her feet, she started running again.

Behind her, a flustered looking boy wearing the page's uniform came sprinting. "Stop! Wait!" he was yelling, trying to catch up.

Rei recognised his voice. It was Pleiades from just that morning, beseeching the strange, dirty newcomer to halt. His words were having no effect, however. The girl was still running, her long stride carrying her closer and closer to where Rei stood, watching curiously.

Upon seeing her, Pleiades pleaded, "Mars! Please! Stop her!"

At this, the girl gave Rei a brief, assessing glance, and kept running, obviously not feeling at all threatened.

Irked, Rei waited until the girl had almost run past her, before sticking out a leg and hooking the other girl's foot with her own. With a smack and an uncomfortable sounding, "oomph!" the muddy girl hit the floor and went sprawling.

This didn't seem to slow her in the slightest, though. In a flash, she was back on her feet and ready to dash away again.

Rei didn't waste time hesitating. She threw herself at the other girl and tackled her around the waist. It occurred to the warrior, as they hit the ground, that perhaps this wasn't the greatest idea. This suspicion was verified when the bigger girl easily flipped them over, pinning Rei.

Desperately, Rei seized her muddy wrists in a death grip that prevented punches from being rained down upon her. The girl growled and tried to tug her hands free. When this was unsuccessful, she went for the next best thing and surged forward to deliver a crushing head butt. This would have been a decisive end to the fight had Rei not thrown herself to the side in panic. Instead of a head to head, there was a sharp crack as the girl's forehead connected with the thick armour on Rei's shoulder.

Not wasting the opportunity, Rei slugged the girl in her mucky stomach and rolled away to her feet. Settling into a crouch, she waited for her opponent to recover so they could engage again. This time, she wouldn't pit her strength against the bigger girl's - she would have to go in hard and fast to incapacitate her with pressure points and then-

"Rei! What's going on?"

Minako entered the scene at a light run, Ami tagging along behind her. Rei had no idea what they were doing here, but the girl dripping in mud was getting to her feet again, clutching at her head and looking quite cagey. Rei put a hand out to stop the two princesses.

"Stay back, Venus! I have no idea what this mad mud ball thinks she's doing, but-"

"I just want the hell away from you people!" The so-called mud ball growled in her defence. "And where in Jove's name is the queen who invited me here?" she demanded.

"The queen invited you?" Minako asked.

"Who are you?" Ami inquired at the same time.

The girl blinked her filthy eyelids and replied, "Makoto."

"Why were you duking it out with Rei?" Minako wondered amusedly, as that was obviously what had been going on.

Makoto pointed to Rei. "She tackled me!"

They turned to the Martian, who folded her arms and said calmly, "She was running down the halls like a crazed barbarian. He," She pointed to Pleiades, "asked me to stop her, so I tripped her."

"She said you tackled her." Minako pointed out.

"I tripped her and then tackled her."

Minako frowned. "You can't just go around-"

"Why were you running?" Ami interrupted.

Makoto pointed a grimy finger at the page hovering in the background. "He was trying to take my things!"

Pleiades put his hands up and protested, "I only wanted to wash them!"

The filthy newcomer looked around at the trail of brown footsteps behind herself, the puddle forming at her feet, the clumps of dirt that had stuck to Rei from their scuffle, and the overall state of her clothes.

"Oh." She rubbed the grubby back of her head embarrassedly.

"Idiot." Rei snorted.

The Jovian growled and crouched like she was going to attack, which made Rei smirk. Glancing significantly at the goose egg forming on Makoto's forehead, she asked tauntingly, "Want another one already?"

Makoto's angry green glare spoke volumes. "You won't be so lucky a second time."

Rei settled into her own ready stance and her grin was suddenly replaced by an utter lack of expression. "That's just what I was thinking."

"Enough."

Queen Serenity had arrived. Her very presence restored a measure of civility to the situation. The princesses all bowed to her and as Rei straightened, she recognised a blonde girl standing behind the queen.

"Princess Makoto of Jupiter," Queen Serenity addressed, "meet Mars Rei, Minako of Venus and Ami, Princess of Mercury." She turned to two of them and said, "Makoto and Rei, meet Princess Serenity."

The blonde girl stepped out from behind her mother and made a wobbly curtsy. Rei noted the way the blonde wouldn't look at her and the way one of her long ponytails had a frazzled kink in it. She grudgingly bowed along with the Jovian.

Minako latched onto the bit of information she hadn't known and spun on Makoto. "You're a princess! Why didn't you say so?" She then bugged out at Rei. "You just laid a smack down on a princess!"

Makoto barked, "She did not-"

"A princess!" Minako crowed.

"It was impossible to tell," Rei stated coolly, "as she fights like a common soldier."

Makoto felt she probably ought to rise to this likely insult, but one glance from the queen quelled this idea.

"Let us try to avoid misunderstandings like this in the future." Queen Serenity said simply, and turned her significant gaze from Makoto to Rei.

"Why are you all here, anyway?" the younger Serenity asked.

"Minako asked me to help search for Rei." Ami explained.

"I took Rei to the kitchens for dinner and, er, got distracted and when I went back she was gone, so I decided to find her and ran into Ami." Minako had a suspiciously innocent smile on.

Rei folded her arms. "I wouldn't even be here if I hadn't had to find my own dinner . . ."

Serenity could not miss the implied criticism and was quickly on the defensive. "I missed telling you about for dinner because I was stuck in that door for four hours!"

Behind her, Minako exploded into laughter, doubling over and clutching her sides.

Serenity rounded on her. "It's not funny! They didn't know where the key was and no one could climb in the window! It was awful! Stop laughing!" But Minako only laughed harder, giggling so hard tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"_F-four hours!"_ she gasped in between hysterics. She seemed to feel her plan had succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.

Rei looked from the poised queen to her daughter, who was stamping her feet and pouting, and found the physical resemblance deceiving. This whinging little girl was the future of the Silver Millennium?

The blonde girl must have sensed her contempt, because she whimpered, "It wasn't my fault. Minako tricked me!" Her woeful blue eyes searched Rei's face for a trace of sympathy or understanding, neither of which was present in the other girl's expression. The only feeling detectable was faint disgust.

The Moon Kingdom would pass the throne to this? Who was making the decisions around here and why hadn't someone pushed them off a very tall cliff?

"She trapped you in a door?" Ami repeated, at a rare loss for something suitably intelligent to say.

"How did she manage that?" Makoto wondered.

Minako laughed even harder, her riotous giggling forcing most of the others to chuckle.

Rei stood and surveyed the scene with detached violet eyes and an expression that said how contemptible she found it all. On Mars, laughing at royalty would result in bad tempers and swift punishment.

"Mother!" Serenity whirled on the queen, whose lips looked tight with restrained smiles. "Send them back! I want nice Senshi!"

Makoto crossed her arms broodingly in an inadvertent imitation of Rei and muttered, "Yes, please do."

Queen Serenity addressed them all as though they weren't bickering like brats. "Tomorrow, Serenity will give you a time and a location where you will meet for breakfast the following day and begin your classes. Serenity will show you where to go."

"Unless she shuts herself in the door again," someone, likely Rei, muttered.

The impromptu meeting ended then, the queen and the moping moon princess leaving one way and the inner princesses drifting away towards the wing where their rooms were.

Ami, after some hesitation, offered to show Makoto where her room was. This was met by grunt, which was taken to mean yes, and the two set off.

Rei was already further ahead, trying to ignore the Venusian skipping happily along at her side.

"This is going to be fun, don't you think?" Minako queried enthusiastically.

The Martian's incredulous glance was eloquent.

* * *

.o.o.

Well, it took a while, but I finally got the second chapter out. If you enjoyed it or found it at all entertaining, please leave a review. I would enjoy hearing suggestions or speculations or . . . pretty much anything you want to say.

Cheers.

Krampus


	3. Cruelty to Nudists

Cruelty to Nudists

* * *

_It is a strange and disquieting thing that within one kingdom there are people so radically different and ready to judge each other that it breeds suspicions and contempt. The petty practices of one planet might be the greatest atrocity to another. Details of the utmost unimportance are taken out of context and exploited to manipulate listeners, preying on all forms of rampant ignorance. It disgusts me when I dwell on it, because in my eyes, my own people seem to be the worst about it. Generations of unchanging opinion can only continue to flow onwards when the only teaching you ever receive is from your family._

_But on the other hand, there really are some massive discrepancies that I can understand would be challenging to get past._

_In general, Mercurians don't leave home until their early twenties, preferring to stay in a comfortable environment and complete their obligatory studies gradually. This is not such a big deal. But on Jupiter, it would be disgraceful – the average Jovian is expected to make it alone sometime around their fifteenth year of life, proving their successful raising and their own competence. My family had never been prouder to see me strike out on my own nearly two years earlier than the norm. What is truly strange is that this practice seems harsh to Martians, who enlist children as young as ten into their armies._

_I once asked Rei how her people justified this. No, well, I suppose I more or less accused her people of savagery, murder, a whole score of other things, and forced her to defend them. I was being . . . a real cow, as Minako might put it. I had a tidy little handful of trivial reasons for baiting Rei and trying to provoke her. _

_The supposed brash, intolerant, Martian warrior said nothing. She turned to me with an expression lacking all her usual pride and shrugged bleakly, nothing but resigned acceptance. I really was unprepared for this. Most thoughts of Martians conjured images of bigotry, bloodlust, massive armies and raucous egos. Sometimes even the Martians like to picture themselves that way. _

_I dropped it then, but this encounter stuck with me for quite a while, niggling and casting doubts on my assumptions. And one by one, all the little facts I'd accepted at face value, been told all my life, started to fall under a stronger more independent scrutiny. Once the seed of doubt is planted, there's no digging it up again._

_This marked the start of a gradual change, redefining of my self-image as less Jovian and more . . . something else. You see, being a Senshi distances you from regular society. Oh sure, we dance and chat and mingle, but we don't get caught up as we used to. Standing on the shore, watching the flow of civilization go by, you see both less and more of what's truly bobbing along. _

_The very things that seemed right and proper to you are changed once you see them from a distance. They are no longer comforting or customary, they've twisted and shed their deceptive skins and now all you can see are the warts and scales and ugliness coiling around an entire society, rearing back to strike and strike and strike, strike, strike . . ._

_I don't know if anyone can make sense of what I'm saying. I've completely lost track of what it was I was trying to get across._

_We're all snakes, I guess._

* * *

"Breakfast will be served soon, Princess Mars." 

Rei rolled over in bed and sat up. The page that peeked in at her door gave a little nod and left her to rise.

Morning light on the Moon made everything in her room seem soft and warm. Rei sat and looked about for a moment, waking up with a yawn and a satisfying stretch.

She was hardly a morning person – detectable through her increased silence and decreased responsiveness, though it was questionable whether anyone knew her well enough to ever see these things or if she was as comparable at sunrise as to the rest of her day. Discernable or not, her reduced morning functions did not impede her from rising promptly and moving about purposefully like any conditioned soldier.

She rifled through her closet. The day before, she had given the contents of the wardrobe a thorough inspection, observing and searching, pleased with the variety of clothes. Ball gowns, summer dresses and formal robes were hung neatly to one side; plain shirts, pants and knee-length overcoats to the other. Though some of the fashions confounded her, everything was of unmistakeable quality.

A black turtleneck and trim black pants went on first. Rei was satisfied to find they were a perfect fit. She then pulled out one of the stiff, silk overcoats and shrugged into it, pulling at the folded collar so that it sat across her shoulders properly and flipped her hair out from under it.

The mirror which hung from the closet doors reflected the image of a pristine, high-ranking Martian warrior. Only someone of stature could wear the revered white jacket that buttoned once on the front and hung straight from the waist down, crimson embroidery crawling along the edges and sleeves. _Wear it like it's made of gold_, she had been instructed. Her father had presented it to her the day after her first battle, his hard eyes hinting at a self-satisfied pride. _Good job, my little progeny_. Shaky and clammy, throat still burning from the acid, she had nodded and donned the wonderful, woven accolade.

The closet door closed and Rei commanded her mind back toward the present. Today they were scheduled to begin the classes that would prepare them to be the Senshi they were expected to become. Something had also been mentioned about a presentation, but the details of what or who or when had been glossed over. Regardless, today would certainly be a better day than yesterday.

Well, it wasn't fair to malign the previous day entirely. Rei had passed a perfectly enjoyable afternoon and evening looking about the grounds and palace, gaining her bearings and taking in the ever-relaxed atmosphere on this planet. Many things here were foreign to her still, but her sense of displacement was curbing to a less pronounced point and her relief at being removed from Mars was coming into clearer focus. She had gone to bed pleasantly sleepy and free of anxieties. The morning of that not-so-bad day, however, had not been so relaxed.

* * *

_. . . these sheets are really soft . . ._

_warm, smooth . . ._

She scrunched her face into a frown and cracked her eyes open to squint about.

_Where in the–!_

In a jolted, panicky start, sleep-muddled Rei had attempted to spring from the strange bed. The sheets however, refused to yield her ankles, wrapped and snared as they were. With all the grace of a dying fish, she flopped to the ground and managed to utterly wind herself. Gasping for air, Rei tried to curl up into a small, breathless blob, only to be thwarted when her feet wouldn't come free.

_Let go, you_

She jerked her knees in toward her chest.

_wretched bed!_

Like a snide child, the sheets released her legs abruptly and the Martian princess kneed herself in the mouth. With a hoarse, oxygen-deprived howl, she clapped her hands over her jaw and rolled about for a bit, writhing and waiting for her insides to re-inflate.

With many muttered expletives once her breath returned, she picked herself up and stumbled to the bathroom. There was a salty tang in her mouth and upon inspection in the bathroom's massive mirror Rei saw she had split her lip on the inside. She filled the glass set beside the tap and took a sip to swish about her mouth.

The door on the other side of the bathroom opened while Rei was still rinsing and idly examining a box of tooth cleaning paste. Such things were a rare, but not much sought-after commodity on Mars. Bad breath and horrendous teeth made better impressions on your enemies after all.

"Good morning! Are you alright? I heard a crash or something."

Rei leaned over the sink and gave a not-very-encouraging grunt in response.

"Well, I hope you didn't hurt yourself."

Insulted, Rei glared up at Venus' reflection in the mirror – and choked violently. The water she had been about to spit went up, down and sideways, ricocheted about her sinuses, sprayed from her mouth and Rei doubled over, coughing and spluttering.

"Are you alright?" asked the puzzled, stark naked Venusian. She took a step back as if Rei might spew water again.

Rei looked up and gaped for a helpless second-and-a-half, went intensely red in the face, turned away quickly and stammered loudly, "In the name of – get some – _Put some $#ing clothes on_!" and having no other option but to flee, did so as if the bathroom was set to catch fire.

* * *

There was no way in all hells that she was having a repeat performance of that morning _or_ later at dinner, when Minako had spent most of the meal grinning at her annoyingly, pressing even Rei's capacity to ignore people. There was also no chance she was going to give up the bathroom in the morning. She got up first, she deserved the bathroom. 

Decided, Rei marched into the traumatising room and across to put her ear to the Venusian's door. Through the wood she could hear drowsy, yawning sounds and shuffling. A touch of panic gripped her and yet the instant her mind nervously put forward the option of fleeing, her pride spoke up sharply and demanded she stop this stinking shirking around and **DO** something.

Footsteps could be heard now, and Rei searched for some way to block the crazy Venusian from barging in buck naked. There was no doubt in her mind that the impish, conniving Venus, thrilled by yesterday's incident, would try to reproduce it. Her eyes landed on the shower in the corner. The ornate glass door swung outwards quite conveniently, and with a little force, it wedged behind the door handle and blocked the other door from opening. Rei made sure it was jammed in extra tight.

Pleased with her resourcefulness, Rei brushed her teeth and waited for Venus to arrive.

She did not have to wait long until dragging footsteps reached their crescendo and the sound of the doorknob was followed by a series of thuds that, judging by the immediate cursing, was the blonde walking into the unopened door.

After a moment struggling, Venus called out, "Rei?"

"What?"

"Oh. Um, is there something blocking the door?"

"You could say that."

There was a brief pause during which Rei could imagine a suspicious look coming over Venus' face. "Are you blocking the door?"

"You could say that."

"What?" came her muffled protest, "Why?"

"Because I've never been so embarrassed in my life," she muttered, squeezing the life out of her toothbrush as she rinsed it under the sink. Never again, she swore to herself, feeling her neck grow hot at the memory of her humiliation.

"Let me in!" Venus wailed, pounding on the door.

"Are you dressed?" Rei asked, knowing the answer.

"No! I'm naked as the day I was born! Now open the door!"

"If you're not clothed then what makes you think I'm going to let you in?" she enquired reasonably, brushing her hair until it fell smoothly to her shoulders.

This was met by more enraged pounding, a few unintelligibly growled words and a screeched, "_Rei!_"

Rei put away the hairbrush and folded up the damp cloth she had used. Venus had relented voicing (and clobbering) her disapproval at the door, but Rei could hear her sitting down, grumbling. It was childishly amusing to listen to the blonde sit and fume on the other side of the door while she leisurely prepared for the day. She even allowed a grin to approach her lips when Venus cried, "Come on, Rei! I'm gettin' old out here!"

She supposed she ought to feel bad for taking so much pleasure in the other girl's torture, but that did not change the fact that this was probably the most enjoyment Rei had felt in a long time.

With careful stealth, she freed the shower door, closed it properly and left for breakfast.

* * *

"Where's Minako?" Serenity wondered. All of the princesses were present but for her fellow blonde. Ami was seated, back straight and head tilted down, reading a book that was tucked under the table on her lap. Makoto was hunched over her place, fiddling with the utensils and investigating the dishes set before her as if they were some strange artifacts. Serenity turned to the girl to her right, staring out the windows with a complacent, distant gaze, and waited for an answer. 

The Princess of Mars arched a contemptuous eyebrow as she caught the intended direction of Serenity's question. "What am I, her keeper?"

"No, but since you're in the room next to her, I thought perhaps–"

"You thought wrong."

Serenity was taken aback for a moment before she crossed her arms and gave an exaggerated glower. "There's no need to be so rude!"

Rei turned her disinterested violet eyes upon the indignant blonde and said steadily, "You would know all about rudeness, wouldn't you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean!"

"Well, it's hardly the most considerate thing to utterly forget a dinner invitation you were meant to deliver . . ."

Serenity flushed slightly and drew a deep breath to give the Martian an earache, when the door banged open and Minako entered, looking equally furious.

Upon seeing the object of her fury, she shrieked, "_Rei!"_

Makoto put her bowl back down and Ami closed her book, the both of them front row for the oncoming clash of roommates.

"Venus."

"You've ruined my morning!" Minako's indignant tone slid right by, leaving its intended victim apparently unruffled.

"We're even then."

"I had to rush to get here and I'm still late!"

"I know. I was getting hungry."

"What is wrong with you?" Minako demanded, her voice rising. "No one treats me like this!"

Rei rolled her eyes behind her lids before turning away from Venus. "May we start breakfast now?"

Serenity jumped a little at being addressed so suddenly and gave a quick, nervous glance to Minako. Livid at being ignored, the Venusian stomped over to the free seat next to the dark haired girl, threw herself into it and settled down to smoulder.

"Er, yes, please go ahead," the Moon Princess invited, digging in as well. The table was loaded with all her favourite breakfast foods and she wasn't going to waste a second's worth of eating to fret about some squabble. Eat now, figure stuff out later.

Minako skewered the food on her plate with a vengeance, her eyes still narrowly darting to the girl beside her. Ami tried to carry conversation, talking nervously about things she hoped might interest those at the table. She succeeded with Serenity once or twice (when the blonde's mouth wasn't full) and they chatted amiably, but Makoto, though attentive, was utterly mute and Rei was busy working on ignoring Minako. The blonde maintained her rotten humour and kept a stink-eye on the Martian.

Fed up, Rei said abruptly, levelling a serious look on the grumpy Venusian, "Stop looking at me like that or I will be forced to settle things with you properly."

Her predicted silence and nervous acquiescence was woefully absent. Minako squinted an eye and her upper lip curled. "Hunh? Isn't that what people do anyway?"

Rei paused in surprise at her fearlessness. "If that's what you prefer. Name a time and place."

The Venusian's bamboozled expression intensified. "What? Er, here and now?"

Rei was further taken aback by this, but the Mercurian princess intervened hastily. "I believe the both of you misunderstand. Minako, you know not what you agree to. Rei, the practice of settling matters in a duel is neither accepted nor honoured outside of Mars," Ami explained, staving off a possibly _very _regrettable outcome.

"Ah," Rei understood. She shrugged away her fleeting surprise. "How quaint."

"Wait, wait, _what_? A duel!" Minako squawked, looking fearful for her life. "I almost agreed to fight this thing?" she asked Ami, jerking a thumb at her neighbour. "I saw what she did to Makoto." She looked at the Jovian's bruised forehead.

At this, Makoto made her first contribution to the ever downward-spiralling mood. "Martians can't seem to resolve anything without fighting."

Rei turned to glare at the unexpected attack. The rancour leftover from their undecided brawl came rushing back to the two combative princesses. There was a challenge still waiting to be met and a will to fulfill it.

"Of course, if I just fought naked I would win for sure."

At this, everyone stopped to look at the smirking Minako, three sets of eyes confused and one murderous. The sheer silence made way for the intrusion of a new voice.

"Eh hem."

The princesses swivelled in their chairs to see that a petite, dark haired woman stood at the doorway. Sure that the attention of her audience was fixed upon her, the woman paced into the room surveying them primly, gaze self-assured below the prominent silver crescent mark on her brow.

"Yes?" Minako said, not even attempting to disguise the impatience in her voice.

Never one to take immediate likings to people in the first place, Rei felt her irritation rise at the woman's prudish manner, of which she had only sampled a few seconds. The underlying annoyance in the blonde's tone paralleled her own first impression.

After a precise curtsy, the newcomer spoke with the utmost politeness. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Luna Velpecula, one of the Queen's main advisors and the forth generation of Velpecula to faithfully serve the royal family. I am to be your private instructor in etiquette and propriety."

Switching tracks at light speed, Minako brightened. "Oooooo, Velpecula? Isn't that some remote shapeshifter planet?" she queried, drowning out Serenity's polite murmur of, 'How do you do?'

The woman's nose rose an inch or two at the Venusian's exclamation and her courteous manner took on a notably acerbic tang. "I will answer questions later. Now is not an appropriate time since I _clearly_ have _much_ work to do with you lot. None of you rose to return my introduction, I was greeted in turn by only _one_ of you, your questions are posed in a most _unnecessary_ fashion, and the way you were all carrying on before I announced my presence was _most_ unbefitting of your statures." There was a moment's deliberate pause as if wishful of an argument that she could trounce with her vastly superior manners. None came, but neither did any effusive apologies fall at her feet and thus unsatisfied, Luna carried on with her day's plan. "Come with me please and I will show you to the room where we shall convene every working day for our lessons."

Dutifully, the chastened girls abandoned their chairs to follow along behind Luna. Serenity rose as well, but only to bid them goodbye and to remind them to return for lunch afterwards. Apparently she was exempt from Luna's lessons.

Rei left the room last, trailing Minako, whose attempt at friendliness had been abandoned in favour of her previous attitude, lending reluctance to her steps and an early, rebellious hankering. The following hours of what would be the longest dullest lecturing they had ever received would do nothing but compound Minako's mutinous inclinations. Jaws slacking, eyes rolling, brains liquefying, they braved Luna's morning spent outlining the course studies, extolling the virtues of etiquette and recounting the plentiful times that her exquisite manners and tactfully constructed (but utterly sincere) replies had assisted the Queen, nay, the entire Moon Kingdom, at court.

* * *

_I've had flesh wounds less painful than that_. 

Stumbling back to the dining room, none of the girls spoke a word, still sunken solidly into their separate stupors. Even Ami, who Rei suspected was a sponge for all things previously unknown, had not cared to hear a large percentage of whatever-the-hell that boring broad had blabbered about.

Makoto, she noticed from the corner of her eye, seemed quietly unfazed as usual. Asides from the indignant outbursts and challenges upon her arrival, the tall girl had mostly faded into the background, watching everything but keeping her thoughts enclosed. It was sometimes unnerving to look about and see a pair of intensely vigilant eyes fixed upon you. Like most things that bothered her, Rei endeavoured to ignore it.

In the dining room the Senshi were confront with the unexpected presence of Queen Serenity, seated at the head of the table where her daughter had been during breakfast. Serenity now sat to the side and waved to the four girls as they entered.

They stopped and bowed before edgily taking seats. The Queen was quick to put them at ease with one of her famed smiles, washing the tension out of the room and prompting her daughter to speak excitedly.

Serenity had been waiting all day to show her soon-to-Senshi their soon-to-be crowns. The tiaras were set upon a velvet draped solid stone stand that had taken four men to lug in. The small crowns were freshly polished and winked gold in the window-filtered sunlight, the clear elliptical gems set into the middle of each shimmering softly.

"Are they . . ."

"Yep!" Serenity answered Minako's unfinished query. "They're for you!"

"For us?" Makoto sounded genuinely surprised.

"Wonderful!" Ami sighed happily, "Such munificence!"

"Not only are they gifts," the elder Serenity added, "They will provide you with the power necessary to fulfill your duties as Senshi."

Rei looked at her sharply. _Power?_

"And they're preeetty." Serenity was enraptured. "I spent all morning polishing them."

Minako suddenly remembered, "Hey! That's right, why didn't you have to take class with us?"

"I've already taken them. Mother insisted upon it before I could be presented at court."

The Queen nodded.

Serenity elaborated. "Luna instructed me in manners and such when I turned ten. Just me. All by myself. For up to eight hours at a time. It was . . ." Her blue eyes seemed a little haunted and her hands trembled for a moment. Then her unfocused gaze twitched toward where her mother sat listening, and she straightened and smiled. "Delightful! Best days of my life! Ooo! Lunch!"

The lilac haired monarch's lips compressed into a hint of a fond smile while her daughter was distracted by the servants streaming in, laden with dishes and drinks.

Serenity's attention was then unswervingly devoted to the delight that was food. She offered occasional quips, but the brunt of the polite conversation fell to Ami, Minako and Queen Serenity. Rei answered perfunctorily when spoken to and Makoto was only heard once when the Queen mentioned the vows they would make to unify and defer themselves to Serenity.

Makoto looked askance at the Queen. "How binding will these vows be?"

Serenity spoke up now that she had cleared her plate. "I don't want you to feel trapped here. Anytime you wish to be released, tell me so. I will let you go."

The Queen looked at her daughter, mildly surprised at this declaration. When Serenity looked back evenly, the woman nodded, but amended, "However, you will not retain your powers. If you are released from your post as Senshi, your abilities will be passed on to another in your place."

"And what will these abilities be?" Ami inquired.

The senior Serenity smiled. "I cannot divulge too many details for fear of . . . limiting your potential."

Ami frowned quizzically at this.

"So we wear these around for a while and then –whammo! – we're magical?" Minako asked delightedly.

The queen's lips quirked before she answered, "In their current, untouched state, they can be thought of as pure potential, waiting to be manipulated into a power that suits the wielder." Over her shoulder, the Queen beckoned the server's to clear away the remnants of their satisfying luncheon.

"This power will make us stronger?" Rei's voice came out more forceful than she had intended.

The Queen seemed to swerve this question. "It will enhance your existing abilities to an extent and provide you with new ones. Strength may or may not be affected. As I said, it is determined by you in the end – your environment and experiences."

Minako appeared stymied by this answer, Ami pensive and the Jovian's thoughts were pinned to her forehead, the concern and curiosity apparent in her field green eyes. Rei privately felt a niggling hesitation in regards to this vague, undefined power being placed upon her. But this didn't matter, she concluded in her own mind. Uncertainty was not an acceptable state and not nearly enough to make her express reservations. Too many expectations, too many positive outcomes balanced upon her fulfillment of the terms of her service.

"You will soon begin learning to wield and hone the power as it comes to you. Be attentive in your classes, study devotedly and grow as a team." Parting words delivered, Queen Serenity stood and swept out of the room, leaving with a tall, dark haired woman standing unnoticed at the door.

Serenity then stood as well and commanded their attention to the crowns set on the stand, rising to walk around behind them. "Come place yourselves before me," she said quietly, solemn and self-contained all of a sudden.

Rei found herself obeying, along with the other three princesses.

"Kneel," Serenity instructed.

This command, Rei found harder. She felt like a dog being dragged to a kennel, knowing the cage would slamboltlockdownshut once she was in and leaning back to dig her heels in. The rift between her thoughts and actions was never more obvious to her than when she took a knee without seeming to hesitate at all – a feat which Rei noted the Venusian did not replicate.

Minako didn't even seem to be aware that everyone else had knelt until Serenity stood before her expectantly. Flustered, the girl dropped just as those around her had and bowed her head to receive the tiara in Serenity's delicate, pale hands.

From the corner of her eye, Rei noticed Makoto stiffen. Following the brunette's gaze, she frowned to see a gloved hand lobbing a dark, rounded object onto the balcony outside. Her eyes widened.

Frowning, Makoto made to stand up. "What –"

There was an ear-splitting bang, an explosive roar, screams, and they were all thrown to the floor. The room was turned upside down in an instant, its occupants bombarded with shards of flying glass and stone. There were cries of surprise echoing in aching ears and a desperate, fearful scramble for safety and for explanation.

For many breathless seconds, there was nothing for Rei but weightless chaos and darkness. All senses were cut off and she drifted, only to be slowly reeled back in by the noise and acrid smoke left by the explosion.

Severely winded, she stirred from beneath the table that had flipped on top of her and wriggled out from underneath it, coughing weakly. Her whole body ached from being crushed and her head throbbed, but she had no sooner acknowledged the fact than an arrow thudded into the floor in the middle of the room commanding all of her attention.

She froze on her hands and knees and, across the room, saw Makoto do the same in her half-crouch. Momentarily, this lone bolt was joined by a series of identical projectiles, piercing through the smoke and dust without warning, sending the room's occupants scrambling for cover.

Heart pounding with adrenaline, Rei made to stand and _get the hell out of the way_ when a stray arrow took a lucky path, grazed her side, snagged her jacket and embed itself in the mahogany flooring. Pinned, she tried to tear free but growled and fell back to the floor when this failed. She shucked the long coat impatiently and darted to the side of the room, stooping behind cover to gain her bearings and sort out just what in the Nine Hells was going on.

Through the dusty smoke, past the potted plant that hid her, beyond the gaping wound where a wall once stood and scattered on the lawn outside were shadows of their assailants, continuing to fire blindly into the room.

_Where the hell is the security around here? Damn useless tinsel soldiers are probably hiding somewhere. _

She was vaguely concerned about the swiftly dissipating haze. So far the deadly projectiles were shot randomly, an arrow here and there every now and again – strategic fire to keep them pinned down. And yet it grew less so as visibility returned, beginning to focus in on one quadrant of the room.

_Shit. Serenity._ Rei whirled around.

So far, Venus seemed to be trying to offer protection, her body positioned protectively above the fallen Moon Princess sitting tucked behind a tall, freestanding cabinet. One human shield would only hold out for one shot though.

Ami was already on the move. She rushed to the toppled table and strained to turn it onto its side. Backing this plan, Jupiter slipped out from her cover, panther like, to grab a side of the table and heave it to its side, crouch behind it, and help the smaller girl push it across the carpeted floor.

Rei alternated between watching this, and surveying the men outside. They numbered just short of five from what she could see and had no discernable leader. Dressed in typical palace-servant uniform, they were utterly unidentifiable or distinguishable. The only things that set them apart from all other palace staff were the sleek crossbows in their grips and the quarrels hanging off their shoulders.

Curiosity buzzed at the back of her skull, fuelled by a lack of comprehension and a conventional distaste for this scene. It was the peak of cowardice to attack without making an announcement and stating your origins. And to target a non-military group? Not only was this pointless, but also completely disgraceful.

A particularly sharp cry of pain turned Rei's head in time to see Minako slump to the floor clutching her arm. It wasn't long after this that the hail of arrows petered off. The smoke had cleared and Serenity had finally been smuggled out of the room.

Outside, the shooters were scattering now, dashing off like deer in the hunter's presence.

There was a soft whimper. "My arm . . ."

Scenting the chase, Rei lunged out from behind her cover and tore after them.

Someone called her name from behind her.

Rei took no notice of it, streaking across the room to leap out the ex-window after her unfortunate prey. With a single-minded drive and purpose, she selected one of the escaping assassins and turned her full attention to running him down. It took her a moment to realise that someone else was sprinting after her.

The Jovian had easily made the leap as well and kept stride just behind her. Rei ignored her.

Her thoughts, she could not ignore. She knew she was nimble and hard to pin down in her all-black attire, but that didn't explain the complete lack of accuracy of the shooters. Minako was the only one who had suffered a hit, and that had seemed purely by chance and certainly not lethal. Why only target Serenity when she was standing in a room full of other princesses about to be granted powers that would change the shape of the Kingdom?

_Perhaps they're Martian_, some nasty corner of her mind muttered.

She wanted to deny that by stating that Mars didn't hate its Lunar sovereigns enough to kill them, but she couldn't say that with any certainty. There were other points she could come up with though:

Martians avoided the moon like the plague and didn't use snipers. If they wanted you dead they said so and came to kill you outright. That, and went against their innate confrontational attitude to run. The man stumbling ahead of her was racing like his life depended upon it.

Rei released these thoughts from her mind to be trapped and examined later. Right now, she wanted to catch up to that damn coward fleeing his damn cowardly actions and give him a damn good thumping.

Despite her previous exploration of the palace grounds, they quickly left the areas she was familiar with and Rei recognised little to none of what they sprinted past. The vast lake was a constant presence to their right and had Rei wasted time in glancing back, she would have seen the palace receding behind her.

Alarmed afternoon strollers paused to gasp and watch a racing fugitive and his two pursuers streak across the footpaths they walk and plunge back into the trees. Gradually, they left behind the spruced areas of the grounds, moving into uneven, unkempt regions dense with trees and thickened by undergrowth.

Sensing the end of this chase, Rei pushed herself to go faster. Unfortunately, the man ahead of her also seemed to feel the impending conclusion and stepped up his pace to outmatch hers.

Behind her there was a scuffing noise and Makoto grunted. A breeze ruffled Rei's hair as a large fist-sized rock went flying by to catch their target in the back. He let out a winded 'oof!' and faltered. Rei was on him like a murder of vengeful crows. Feet first, she took him down and with a quick reversal kick, clocked him on the head.

Makoto staggered to her side and they both stood over the man's prone form, breathing disjointedly from one another in their disparate lung capacities. When Makoto recovered her breath much sooner than her, Rei resolved to run more often.

Straightening, she rested a hand at her hip. The slickness under her calloused skin made her freeze. Moving only her eyes to look, Rei tilted her hand palm-up to find it glistening crimson in the filtered, forest light. _Crud._

In a case like this, a good Martian has only two options, to a) smear the blood and position the body conspicuously, fielding any curious/concerned enquiries with ease and nonchalance, thus emphasising one's fortitude and impressive pain tolerance. Or b) to ignore and conceal all signs of injury, return to safe living quarters and bandage it privately (no assistance from servants – they gossip), proving accordingly the warrior's undiminished proficiency at not having been marked by the enemy.

Immediately and without a doubt, Rei opted to go the second course. Not only did she doubt the Jovian's appreciation of battle wounds, she was also beginning to feel the blood-loss now that she thought about it. Fainting never assisted the act-casual routine.

"You can carry him, right?" It was fairly urgent that she got back to the palace. Rei had pushed and charted her body's limitations and knew them very well.

The tall girl sized the insentient man up in a glance and looked at Rei neutrally for a moment before nodding.

Rei might have been unnerved by the force of the tall girl's green eyed stare had she not been growing too dizzy. "Good," she decided, "So carry him," and waited around while Jupiter hefted the limp body over her shoulders and straightened. As Rei had anticipated, the Jovian took off without a backward glance. Rei counted to twenty before following back to the palace.

She knew how injuries like this worked, had suffered more than the average fourteen-year-old's share of blood loss. First, the shakes, as she came down off the adrenaline high, then, all the symptoms that had been held at bay – dizziness, weakness and shaking, would come in a rush, pilling up until she rested or her body forced her to rest by passing out.

Fainting out in the open was absolutely out of the question. Rei's overwhelming motivation for getting to her room stemmed from an experience she had suffered years ago, passing out on a battlefield and waking hours later in the same predicament. Eventually someone wandering the fields had spotted and recognised her. She had even been helped back to the camp, but at great loss of face, forcing her to fight in twice as many battles to recuperate her image. If word got back that she was collapsing all over the place at the moon her father might condescend to show up and thump her ass himself.

She stumbled along the path they had taken, touching trees as she went. There was a haggard urgency to her movements, much like any wounded creature limping as swiftly as possible to the nearest den, anxious for safety to negate the unbearable vulnerability. Not even halfway back, her side began to throb and twinge, forcing Rei to pause, pull back her shirt, and see the weeping, ragged gash at her waist. Unreasonably, this confirmation of her injury made it easier to suppress, like the unknown had been unveiled and rendered harmless.

Losing the exact steps that had been taken before, Rei gambled on a different course. Fortunately, following paved footpaths proved to be a more expedient route to the beaming marble building and led Rei to an entrance she recognised.

From there she made her way as inconspicuously as possible, straightening painfully out of the reflexive half-crouch she had been walking in. Stairs proved to be a long slog of dragging herself stiffly up the banister and fielding inquiries from passer-by's. She had literally growled at a man who had touched her shoulder to lean in and ask if she was okay – an actual, wordless snarl to his face, no doubt accompanied by a ferocious stare.

And then she was in her room struggling out of her bloody clothes, wadding her shirt up and tying it around her torso by the sleeves. A passable bandage? Nope, but Rei had seen worse and used worse and didn't particularly care. She knew she would recover with sleep and the bleeding would stop in due course.

The last sight her closing eyes registered was her bed rushing up at her.

* * *

.o.o. 

Hello lovely readers, sorry about the wait in between updates. My ideas for this story don't always appear quickly – they're ephemeral and whimsical, coming and going as they please, dancing, wisp-like through my mind to some quirky, captivating tune. But they will continue to dance, never fear.

And now to the people who reviewed. Your replies will always be at the end of the chapter so that those who don't care to read this don't have to scroll their way past it just to get to the story.

**Shinoshisha -** I'm really glad you liked that scene. I worry about my dialogue sometimes, so it's nice to hear I've done some of it right.

**Immortal Sailor Cosmos -** Hehe, yeah – they don't seem to like each other, do they:P Beryl: -shows up on the Moon and scratches head- Well, this was easy . . .

**JA-2 -** Sweet. I'm glad you found it funny.

**DarkElena -** Yep, you got the chapter title exactly right – the juxtaposition between UberQueen Serenity and the princess who still has her training wheels on. I had a riot writing the Makoto vs. Rei scene. I scribbled it out in about two seconds it came to me so fast. As for Minako, the bulk of her character is what you don't see up front, so of course I'll get deeper than her fluffy exterior. Though, I warn you, it may not be right away in the story.

**Kyjar -** Yeah, the two chapters were meant to contrast – new planet, new atmosphere, same brooding Rei. I too am eager to see what depths the Senshi may gain as I go and I've got my fingers crossed that I get them all right.

**Silver Sailor Ganymede -** Yeah, my SilMill really isn't aiming to be utopian at all. I'm stoked that you like the characterisations so far and I hope you'll be equally pleased when they gain more dimensions.

**Anya-06 -** Welcome to the SM world:) I'm glad you liked my fic and I am honoured that it was your first.

**Payne N. Uranus - **First of all, I have a laugh every time I see your name – it's a real gas snorts and bursts into fit of laughter. Anyway, I am sorry I made you wait for months for this update, but I'll keep chuggin' along, so hopefully that makes up for it a little.

**Arashi3 - **I'd like to see how this story turns up as well, therefore, I shall definitely keep the chapters coming.

**To Everyone** who reviewed, thank you. I (like most writers) am a glutton for praise, and I appreciate every little comment because it means you valued my story enough to let me know. Hell, I even enjoyed the ones about what you had for dinner. Dinner is delightful.

Krampus


	4. Culmination of an Overture

Culmination of an Overture 

* * *

_Back in the days when the four little Senshi had just arrived, life was simple for Michiru and I. Periodic border patrolling for the outer limits and the occasional mission to Saturn were the order of the day. The rest of our time was spent on the Moon training and at social functions. The trading economies of our planets were blossoming thanks to the relations we built at court. _

_It was during one of those calm downtimes at the Moon when I was taking in the scenery, lounging in the branches of a tree and watching the people swimming along the lake. Or the sea inlet, since we call it a lake, but it truly juts off the Serentatis. _

_Anyway, there's a soft rustling of leaves and I look over. It's odd that someone would be so far off the footpaths and odd that they be dressed in such a way. The long, stiff jackets of Martian military are hardly a common sight anywhere but their planet of origin. I look back to check that my favourite swimmer isn't going anywhere and then get to focusing on the kid down on the ground. _

_The scrawny little Martian is standing still, looking down at his _her?_ hands cupped in front of his chest. He's completely enraptured by the entity in his_ her?_ hands and I don't get to see what it is until it flutters away. A butterfly. She watches it until it's gone and breathes out afterwards, staring off in its direction. _

_By now, I'm fairly certain he's a she and that I'm curious enough to want to meet her. I jump down, landing with a noticeable crunch, and straighten. She's facing me, and looking very cool and composed. Her tense body language however, the way her weight is spread between her braced legs, is threatening me with several different forms of death. _

_"The gardens of the palace are the only place on the moon where you can find butterflies like that. They were imported from Earth." I pretend not to notice how intensely hostile the girl is. _

_There's a beat of silence where her dark eyes flick to the tiara across my forehead, to my face and away. _

_"I don't care," she snorts, and walks off. _

_I grin to myself a little ruefully, figuring I could have handled that better. _

_"You should have known better than to drop in on her," the swimmer comments softly from behind me. _

* * *

She moved her eyes about the room, noting that she was in her quarters and that the heavy curtains were drawn against the sunlight peeking in. Minako was passed out asleep on a chair in the corner, her head tucked into her shoulder and her knees drawn up. 

Cursing her weakness in front of others, Rei slid her blankets off and swung silently out of bed. She swayed slightly when she regained her feet, her head feeling cotton-stuffed and her limbs stiff.

Clean white bandages were wrapped around her torso neatly. Someone had also cleaned up the clothes she had clumsily shucked and left a pile of fresh ones on a table. Rei grabbed for her shirt and too late, noticed that her belt was coiled on top. It slipped off and fell to the floor, the clasp clunking audibly against the ground and jerking the blonde from her sleep.

"Wha- Oh, Rei! How are you feeling?" she asked concernedly and unfurled from her nap.

"Fine." Rei quickly pulled her long sleeved shirt on hastily, but not before Minako could see the defined ribs along her torso that layers of bandaging couldn't disguise.

"Are- are you sure?" The worry was even more evident in her voice now.

"Yes," Rei snapped. She unfolded her pants with a snap and pulled them on, her fingers shaking as she threaded her belt through the loops. As she fumbled with the buckle, she saw Minako fidget; she looked as though she wanted to offer to help. Thankfully, she didn't. Rei didn't think her temper could take it if she did. "I need something to eat." She roughly threw her long jacket on.

Minako practically sprang out of her chair. "Let's go to the kitchens. You've missed dinner again."

The word dinner prodded the dark eyed girl to call to mind the events that had taken place in and after the demolition of the dinning room. Rei wondered where Serenity was at the moment. Then she glanced at Minako's arm and saw her sporting similar white bandages around her bicep. The blonde was oblivious to her gaze and made for the door at her usual, jaunty gait.

"I haven't eaten either," Minako tossed over her shoulder as Rei followed.

Rei just nodded and fiddled with her sleeve. Her coat had been washed and a neat line of indistinguishable stitches mended the tear made by the arrow. Rei looked up to Minako. "Who –? Did you –?" She stopped herself. The blonde Venusian probably couldn't look at a sewing needle without pricking herself a dozen times, much less wield one competently.

"Ami fixed that up," Minako informed her. "She fixed you up too."

Pausing to peel back her shirt, Rei inspected the bandages wrapped around her waist with keener scrutiny. They were neat, tight and it felt like a compress had been wrapped in with them.

"She did this?"

"Hmm?" Minako hummed distractedly.

Rei looked up to see the blonde's eyes lingering interestedly on her exposed skin. She yanked her shirt back down defensively and snapped, "Didn't you see enough before?"

Minako made a puzzled face. "Is it possible to see enough of another person? Everyone here seems to spend so much time hiding themselves I only want to look closer – you most of all."

To the blonde's surprise and eternal delight, Rei's cheeks flushed and the Martian quickly looked away.

Pleased with herself and the situation overall, Minako graciously said nothing about the charming blush and commented as if nothing had happened, "Ami knows all sorts of wonderful things. She's just jam-packed full of random facts and talents. And she's so pretty, with the nicest hair . . ." She trailed off, continuing her thoughts in her head.

Rei frowned. "Why were you in my room?" It hadn't seemed strange when she had first woken, but now she looked at the blonde narrowly.

"Ami figured someone should watch over you after she checked on you. She had to go answer questions about the explosion. She told me to stay." They reached the kitchen doors then and pushed their way in. Unlike before, the kitchen was full of cooks and servants, bustling around calling out orders.

Rei let out a little huff and looked at the Venusian irritably. "I don't need anyone watching over me."

"Well, sor-ry for taking care of you when you were passed out."

Everything the blonde said was like sandpaper chaffing at her ego. "You didn't take care of me. All you did was sleep in my chair. And I didn't pass out! I was . . . just . . . sleeping!"

Minako gave her an exasperated look. "Right – sleeping so hard you didn't move when Ami flipped you over and unpeeled your crusty shirt from your skin."

Rei took a belligerent stance. "As if you were watching! I bet the sight of blood makes you sick." It was mostly a shot in the dark, this. Still, Minako looked away, tossing her hair resentfully.

"Gee, there's gratitude for you. What's your deal anyway?"

"My 'deal' is you thinking you've helped me when you haven't," Rei snapped. No way was she victim to the tenderness of some gas-ball princess from the land of nymphos and debauchers. Bad enough Venus had seen her sorry state, but to have her asserting her supremacy by condescending to care for her – positively degrading.

"Well then I'll never do it again!"

"Good! That's what I –"

"You are the rudest –"

"– want in the first place! Just –"

"– most inconsiderate person ever!"

"– _leave me alone_!"

Minako crossed her arms and wore a mightily annoyed expression. "Fine. Have fun being grumpy then. But you might do something thoughtful for a change and let Serenity know you're alright. I don't know why, but she was worried about you." With obvious hurt feelings, Minako turned away and stormed off.

Rei got herself something to eat and drink and when she was done _being grumpy_, she was mildly surprised to find that she felt bad. She couldn't understand how she had gotten so angry over nothing, but blamed it mostly on lack of sleep and the feeling she was under since arriving at the Moon. It had nothing to do with the Moon, she knew, but was more a form of paranoiac restlessness.

"Whatever," she mumbled. Things like guilt and irritation were all washed away by the comforting routine of training. She sought out this refuge in the west courtyard of the palace where the guard rotated for practice.

Rei picked out a bow and loaded arrows into a kickstand quiver. It was either work on a little marksmanship, or go find Serenity. _And I probably wouldn't find her anyway_, she mentally excused herself She set herself up at the end of the range and casually strung the bow. She gauged the distance between herself and the target. _Probably about eighty yards. Can't quite be a hundred. Maybe a little less. No wind, no–_

There seemed to be a small stain the dummy's front that she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes widened when that dark stain began to blossom and leak sluggishly across the mannequin's chest like blood spread–

Rei blinked and squinted.

The pristine, white dummy stood at the end of the range, waiting to be shot.

Feeling an uncomfortable tightness constricting her chest and throat, Rei brashly swung her bow up to aim. The arrow fumbled in her grip and the string felt like it would slip from her nerveless fingers.

_No! Come on!_ She willed her arms to obey, visualised stability and control. _Calm_. Her breathing regulated. _Be unaffected_. _Be_–

When she sighted her target down the shaft of her arrow the stain had spread all the way to the bottom where it dripped crimson puddles.

"Mars Rei?"

Rei jumped and hissed when the bowstring slipped and snapped into the soft skin on the underside of her forearm. The arrow was not released but she was going to have a welt to show for her surprise. "What?" Rei snapped and spun on the man who snuck up on her.

He nearly backed up a step, raising his hands peaceably. "My name is Artemis. I've come to escort you to the royal armoury."

Rei relaxed her posture, signalling to continue and examined him while he spoke. The man was tall and slender and wore an all white outfit to match his long white hair. The crescent mark on his brow put her at ease for some reason.

"The other princesses will be there and waiting to choose weapons. It would be advantageous if you all kept up your training. Shall we?"

Rei unstrung the bow, set it against the arrows and they walked across the training grounds to meet up with the other princesses. She hadn't seen them in this light before but when she saw the other three standing about, she sized them up, contemplated their techniques and speculated their weaknesses.

_Broadsword_, she guessed for the Jovian. _Maybe a pole arm._ The other two, she couldn't see wielding weapons without losing fingers or dropping them in fright. _Daggers for Mercury? No, too personal for someone so squeamish . . ._ She looked at Minako and smirked to herself. _A daisy chain?_ As if sensing her scorn, the Venusian turned and made a face at Rei.

"In here." Artemis hefted open a door beckoned them in.

It was the shiniest armoury Rei had ever seen, though small by her standards. Gleaming, noble weapons of all sorts sat on racks and shelves, hung from hooks and leaned against walls. The amount of silver, gold and jewel encrusted surfaces that met Rei's eyes was ridiculous. _More tinsel soldiers._

Artemis caught the Martian's unimpressed expression but was then distracted by a blonde blur barrelling by with excitement. Minako was everywhere at once, darting between shiny items that grabbed her interest. The Mercurian seemed to have a slightly more refined approach to her observations, tending to inspect lightweight weapons. In contrast to the blue haired girl's tastes, Makoto was lingering near the weaponry that better matched her height and strength.

Nothing caught the Martian's attention until Minako's ferreting about uncovered something curious. The blonde then moved off after the next sparkly weapon and Rei picked up the pair of blades that had been hidden. She pulled one out of its sheath to inspect it and was pleased by what she saw. The handle was smooth and blended into the slender blade with a winged hilt and feather pattern. Upon close inspection, the stylised eyes and beak of a bird were discernable. It came with a thick leather belt that hung the sheaths on either side of the wearer's waist. She strapped it on and pulled out the other sword.

Rei hefted the two blades and felt an instant familiarity in the grips and balance of the twin weapons. "These are mine," she stated.

Minako glanced over and perked. "Scimitars? Those are Venusian weapons. Good choice!"

For a moment, Rei looked over at the girl thoughtfully. Smugly, she twirled the swords. "I name this one Phobos," she held up her left hand, "and this one Deimos," she held up her right, "after the beautiful moons of my glorious planet."

Minako glared at the Martian, her left eye twitching involuntarily. Deciding she had no grounds to take offence to that obvious snub, she growled, threw her arms up and stalked away in a huff with her chain over her shoulder.

* * *

In addition to training in their free time, they began more classes, taught by Pluto, the dark green haired woman Rei saw periodically around the palace. Her teaching method was vague at best and slightly confusing. She instructed them on the significance of politics and people both past and present, but spoke as if she did not expect them to truly understand a word she said. Unlike Luna, who grilled them on previous lessons every day, the enigmatic Senshi of the ninth planet seemed satisfied so long as they listened and put forth an earnest effort. 

The Time Senshi also allowed them to ask questions and get off topic during class, again, unlike their other, less charitable teacher who barked at them to shut up when she felt things were getting _unfocused_. They would spend lessons pestering Pluto about what being a Senshi was like and what the gates of time looked like. Even Makoto, usually mute, was interested enough to speak up now and then. Ami's questions were typically complex and led to discussions that lost the other three young princesses, while Rei only ever probed their teacher on ancient warfare and the clans of Mars before they began to fall. Minako, on the other, asked about every little thing that entered her mind and queried at least once a lesson how old Pluto was. This was unwaveringly met by an enigmatic smile.

Outside the classroom, tensions between the four foreigners were invariably remembered and words became more inhibited. Their mealtimes were always taken together, but characterised by an oppressive, forced civility which bred long silences and stunted conversations.

After dinner, the moment the table was cleared by the servants, they were off in separate directions to pursue their chosen leisure before bed. Ami disappeared into the library, Minako stalked the palace and the barracks, looking for people more talkative than her classmates and Makoto disappeared somewhere outside. Rei used the time to work out in the mostly vacant training yards, discovering every little detail about her new weapons and maintaining her excellence at all others.

It was unusual, then, when Ami took the same path as Rei after dinner and trotted up to walk beside her.

"Mars?"

A small, inquisitive sound let Ami know Rei was listening.

Criss-crossing her fingers nervously, Ami began. "I realise it may be presumptuous of me and I do hope to not infringe upon your time too much because you seem to keep fairly busy during the hours we have to ourselves and I also enjoy passing my time at my discretion, however there is request I would like to make of you which I find rather important–"

Rei stopped the blue haired girl with a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me in as few words as you can what it is you want."

"Ah," Ami unfolded her hands and put them stiffly at her side. "I would like, would greatly appreciate it if – if you would take the time to train with me."

"Train with you?" Rei parroted, "In weapons?"

"Erm, yes. I have recently discovered the meanings of those," She pointed to the collection of small, metal pins along Rei's collar, "which all seem to indicate you have significant proficiency in the field of combat. All of my knowledge comes from manuals and texts . . . which I . . . they confuse me." Her face was turning red with embarrassment and on top of her sheepishness, the Mercurian looked slightly pleading.

"I, you – hey! You don't need to feel bad." Rei was ill at ease with the emotion the other girl was displaying. It was indecent to confront others with your feelings and for the most part, Rei ignored them or disdained them. But she didn't want to ignore Ami or disrespect her. Ami was . . . kind and very gentle and Rei didn't want to chase that away. "I'll train with you, okay? I was going there anyway . . ."

"Truly?" Ami eagerness returned.

"Yes," Rei pledged, but added, "I will think of an appropriate form of repayment later."

Fortunately for Rei, the Mercurian was a quick study, showing the same aptitude for learning swordplay as memorising texts. Ami had chosen a rapier – a slender, graceful blade which suited her well but required a precise technique to wield. Unsure of how to teach someone, Rei mostly assigned exercises which would develop nimbleness and muscle memory. Sometimes they sparred, though the Martian was very reluctant to do so. Her training had been harsh and the battles she fought even less forgiving. Pulling punches was a ridiculous notion and often tremendously insulting, even to novices. It had been utterly bizarre to witness the Moon's tinsel soldiers training and apologising when they struck their opponent. Rei was sure she would eventually forget and wind up skewering the other girl, who had no notion of the reality of fighting.

"I was only permitted to study fighting techniques because it is traditional for the rulers of Mercury to be knowledgeable in as many ways of life as possible," Ami had admitted once.

Rei had been appalled at this. "Don't you want to be able to stand up for yourself? Defend yourself?"

Ami was confused. "Defend myself from what?"

She could only shake her head and move on. _What a backwards planet_.

Then one evening found the Princess of Mars and her student finishing up their final exercises while a tall, silent figure watched them from nearby. She usually spent her time outdoors, wandering fields and idly tracking creatures through the untamed nature surrounding the palace. But tonight, now that her rival was surely fully healed, Makoto felt it was time to settle certain matters. The grip of her weapon felt particularly sure, clasped loosely at her side, the tip resting innocently against the floor.

Rei swept her hair out of her face and nodded goodbye to Ami. She then faced the spectator squarely. She knew what the Jovian had come for. Her neutral expression held no invitation but Makoto pushed off the wall she lounged against and gripped her halberd firmly.

"How about a rematch now that we're on even ground? No armour, no surprises."

Rei stepped forward and drew a sword, unbuckling the other one and tossing it aside. "First blood?"

"Fight until someone wins," Makoto proposed simply.

"As you like," Rei consented.

She leapt in suddenly, slashing upward in a careless sweeping motion that exposed her entire core to her opponent. It was a taunt, had Makoto been the sort to recognise it, but she did not, too absorbed in dodging the blatant attack.

Rei did not attempt to press an advantage, but fell back and began a more tame approach, testing and strategising. She knew already what sort of fight this would be. Makoto was fast and strong and eerily good at reading body language, but if there was any truth to the few rumours she had heard of Jovians, then Makoto was used to fighting wild animals and not duelling humans. She moved with a strange intensity, bursts of speed intermitted by wary circling.

Makoto lunged in to deliver a series of chopping attacks that Rei span away from and deflected. Rei had little option but to dodge her blows. They were dealt with such an excess of force they could crush any attempt to block. They circled once more.

In a display of technique and dexterity, Rei flipped her blade into her opposing hand in a reverse grip and veiled the action with a quick spin and a sudden lunge. Even the Jovian's miraculous reflexes couldn't save her unguarded upper arm from the unexpected attack. One precise swipe and the edge of Rei's scimitar was glazed in blood.

With a roar, Makoto slashed her halberd around faster than Rei thought possible. No other option but to block it, the warrior felt her body absorb the shock from her fingernails, all the way up her arm to her teeth clenched in her jaw.

She disengaged quickly before Makoto could exert more force on it, and drove the pommel of her weapon into the taller girl's shoulder joint. Rei then danced back to avoid the wide swing at her legs. Her jab had been struck with enough force to dent bones but did not seem to faze Makoto at all nor hamper her mobility. A flesh wound and a paralyzing blow she had taken to the same arm had apparently no effect. The Jovian seemed impervious to pain, but then again, so were most Martian berserkers once you got them started. What Rei knew from experience was that though Makoto might not be showing it or even _feeling_ it, her arm had definitely taken damage.

After a flurry of jabs and cuts, Makoto's cleaving swing came like a lightning strike – one that Rei was waiting for. Her modified parry was not so much a matter of deflection as _redirection_. With an extra push exerted to the proper slant, the strain exacerbated the Jovian's whinging arm to the point of _dammit-that's-it_ and the weighty halberd went skidding in circles across the floor.

It was clearly a defeat, this Rei knew, but had to check the urge to _finish_ the match. Makoto's hand gripped her opposite arm, knuckles white while Rei froze for a moment, poised to finalize her victory. Makoto's bright green eyes narrowed from apprehensive to sullen and annoyed. She growled and turned her back on Rei to stride over to her lost weapon. By the time she had it back, the room was empty.

* * *

Their days fell into a comfortable routine – comfortable for some, like Ami and Rei, who were habituated to having a schedule. It seemed to chafe at Makoto some, and Minako did not look as if she understood how to adhere to a daily agenda, sometimes not turning up to class or even dinner. 

The failed attempt at presenting the four princesses with their tiaras and the subsequent attack seemed to be a bit of a damper on the mood of the Moon residents. Even Serenity was in a bit of a sulk, wolfing down her food at half the usual rate. Queen Serenity was all for giving it another go in order to boost morale but the princess was adamant that there be no second attempt at presenting the tiaras until the reconstruction on the Palace's east wing was complete. Rei understood this perfectly – the significance of an event could be easily undermined if attention was being diverted towards something else. As far as Rei could see, crowning each of the inner princesses was most likely a display of strength that would best be presented once the attack was safely behind them.

So the coronation was on hiatus and their studies were progressing. Pluto had them every third day, and class with Luna was the same dull experience.

The near-Senshi studied together routinely – an intervention from Serenity, who insisted they should try to become friends. Minako was gung-ho on the friendship front but not so much for the studying. The other three treated their time together chiefly with indifference, though it was the Mercurian who offered her room to use.

Evenings then found them sitting around in Ami's sitting room at her table, reading their texts silently and questioning Ami when they didn't understand. In Minako's case, questions were also interspersed by bouts of hysterical giggling when something struck her as funny – such as the revelation that a _zephyr_ was a warm wind and thus, 'the fluctuating pressure systems in the atmosphere are the main cause of Uranus's constant _warm winds_'. The blonde was mostly ignored, but for Ami's puzzled frown.

The time spent together revealed many underlying and buried disparities between the four very different girls. They each felt the less-than-attuned dynamic that their unstable little group had, noticed the obvious, like the mutual irritation between Rei and her roommate and the subtle, like Ami's aversion and near imperceptible distaste for Minako.

Though the frostiness between the four girls rarely came fully to the surface, it was very much in evidence. Their teachers were well aware and Serenity, though her commonsense was often little in evidence, could feel the animosity. It was the big things that pushed them apart and the small things that were always reminding them.

Makoto, chiefly silent, was eternally bitter at her sparring defeat by Rei and could not seem to repress it at any opportunity. Rei dealt with hostility the only way she knew how.

It was inevitable that their resentment should boil over eventually. Continued passive aggressiveness, a hunger for confrontation, and Makoto's unawareness about most things foreign were easy contributors to the culmination of their animosity.

Rei glanced up from her reading at what had to be the tenth or twelfth confused question about the biospheres on Mercury to be posed by the brunette sitting across from her. "It figures you don't learn much from living in a tent," she muttered.

Ami sighed. "Rei –"

"Well, I suppose a bigot like you must think you know some things, otherwise how would you form your worthless opinions?" Makoto snapped harshly.

Minako attempted to intervene. "Stop, Makoto –"

"Oh look, a whole sentence. And here I thought you could only grunt."

"I speak just fine – much better than the babies you murder."

And Rei suddenly went from smirking to utter seriousness, her knuckles white on the table. _"That's too far!_"

"Doesn't stop you though, does –"

Makoto was interrupted by the Martian's swift rise to her feet, accompanied by a harsh scrape of her chair against the floor. There was something cold and violent in her expression not at all masked by the way she looked away from them. Of the two that recognised it, Ami was troubled and Minako puzzled. Makoto frowned at the suddenly overbearing body language Rei was telegraphing and felt her hackles rise.

"That's enough," Rei growled. "I don't care what you think you know about me, but it's _nothing_." Her hands itched to settle at her waist, nearer to her weapon. She kept them braced on the table.

_. . . settling matters in a duel is neither accepted nor honoured . . . _

"I will forgive you your ignorance because you can't know any better." _Mars is too closed off, of course there are rumours. _"Apologise, and I will forget it." _This had better be appreciated. Who ever heard of forgiving someone without duelling them first? _

_Hmmm, that is certainly a tad hypocritical. What does either of them know of each other? If they could only speak rationally on the differences of their cultures this could all be precluded. _Ami sat as still as a rabbit in its den and did not voice her thoughts.

_She's calling her stupid and asking for an apology? How charming. These two need to learn some people skills. _Minako, never a fan of awkward situations, felt she had to get involved somehow and turned to Makoto."You had better not say something equally stupid."

Ami's pointed _shut up_ look was too late, but the Jovian didn't seem to care either way. Crossing her arms in a stance that spoke no good, Makoto's reply was, "I'd sooner kill babies than apologise to you."

_Never underestimate the stupidity of two proud people,_ Ami sighed.

Minako braced herself. _Oh, this isn't good . . . _

Her temper snapped, and Rei lashed out in a flare of pure reactive response, something like an exaggerated knee-jerk reaction. Her kick not only toppled the larger girl's chair, the force of it cracked and snapped the leg of the ornate furniture. It splintered at the base and dumped Makoto to the floor.

Her foot would probably bruise and ache for days, but for now, Rei felt only a brief flicker of pain swept aside by the tide of her anger and adrenalin. Her focus was choppy and halting. One moment she was lunging, the next she had the Jovian on the floor, knees to the spine, twisting an arm against its socket ruthlessly. Cries of pain, of shock, of protest all coalesced to cancel each other out and leave only her heart thundering in her chest, beating in her skull, accompanying her singularly crystalline thoughts. _I've never felt . . . so angry. I can't control myself. Am I really going to break her arm?_

She could feel tendons, inches away from popping, bunching in the bigger girl's shoulder. The arm in her grip vibrated against the strain of being levered the wrong way, grinding against the hollow that cradled it, muscles bunching and flagging in their futile attempts to cease the forward motion.

_Stop me. Stop me._

Her peripheral vision was telling her strange lies. Was that quiet Ami shouting and brandishing a chair leg? She couldn't decide whether she wanted to dodge the oncoming blow. Minako had a grip on Ami's sleeve but the blue haired girl looked determined to do it and when she commenced her backswing, Rei still hadn't made up her mind.

Her indecision decided for her.

Suddenly she was blinking up at the ceiling with Ami looming above her. The Mercurian looked aghast.

Rei dizzily rolled her head to the side to see the Venusian guiding the Jovian out the door hastily.

She sat up, paused to let the room stop spinning, and lurched to her feet. Her head gave an almighty throb that felt like it might force her eyeballs from their sockets, and then settled into a steady pounding.

"Oh, my God." A wooden clatter was heard a second after the girl's numb fingers dropped her weapon. Ami reached out to touch the side of her head but Rei flinched away. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what – I wasn't even, I'm sorry!"

"Whatever."

"No, I'm really sorry! I cannot believe I did that!" The blue haired girl seemed horrified with herself and she dithered distraughtly. "I was not thinking at all or I would never have, have _attacked_ someone like that. I am profusely repentant. I am truly very sorry! I am –"

"Stop apologising," Rei commanded. It was weird – no, it was weak and Rei didn't want to feel like she had just been floored by a weakling.

"You should see a doctor!"

"I wasn't even out for a minute, was I? It's fine." Gruffly, she shouldered past the other girl and grabbed her books off the floor, dazedly staggering a little when she stood back up.

Ami put a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Are you–"

"Stop it!" Rei smacked her hand aside. "I said I'm fine!" And just as coldly, she pushed past the Princess of Mercury.

In her room, Rei dropped her books and struggled with a couch until it faced her hearth from only a foot or two away. A fire, as per requested, constantly danced within the grate and Rei was never more thankful for its warmth. She curled up on the sofa and watched the flame ripple and sway in a trancelike state.

There was going to be hell to pay for the tussle with the barbarian, she knew. The second most annoying blonde in the palace was so passionate but naïve about her Senshi being best friends forever. She would either shit a brick or bawl her head off when she realised the four imported princesses couldn't stand one another.

After an unknown span of time spent staring at nothing, Rei heard the click of her door and soft footsteps approach.

"Come with me."

In several seconds, she stood shoulder to shoulder with Ami and Minako in Serenity's pale, spacious sitting room, listening to the young princess express her disappointment and pace in distress.

"So I've come to a decision."

Serenity faced them, looked them all in the eye in turn and truly looked as if she was decided. There was a lengthy explanation, and an outlining of a plan, but in the end, Rei was only moved by one statement.

"You're going to Venus."

* * *

.o.0. 

And so ends the unofficial Part I of this story. Now we must begin the second segment and the turning point in the lives of our little Senshi.

**mouseclicker – **Thank you! I really am glad you don't mind the excessive waiting and even more pleased that you are enjoying the characters so far. This story seems to be becoming more and more character based as I write.

**Traser SyberJedi** – Ah, I think is just being gibbled since I know my second chapter is there. I hope you find it . . .

**Dunny** – Thanks for the encouragement, Dunny. :D

**Venus Reiko – **Ah, I do try. I take it from your name that you might be pulling for a certain pairing? . . .

**DarkElena** – Hmmm . . . chalks another one down for Minako/Rei Yeah, I figured Minako the Venusian might be the sort to go nudey at all possible opportunities. Heh. She's just that cool. And the assassin thing won't get fully explained for a while I don't think. Though you may get your wish about who finds Rei. :)

**mannie511** – Heh, I'm glad chapter 3 is out too. It took me ages of toiling away at details.

**Silver Sailor Ganymede** – Well, I need some amusement to balance out Rei's angsty little soul, plus that's just how Rei and Minako's dialogue flows when I write it out.

**Sheena – **Ah, I'm all about the cold cuts trio. Yum. The beginning blurbs are there for many reasons, one of which is to contrast their coming maturity with the way they seem to lack it at this point in the story. They've got a ways to go, I'd say.

**Silent Ee** – Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it, even if it be against your will. I'm all about the customer satisfaction, but I'm hoping the quality won't take a dive even if it frees up your time. :) Sorry.

**Bic –** I find humour crucial to my chapters. It both provides amusement and enhances the effect of angst and action. Plus, well, I can only be serious for so long.

**Lokiador – **Heh, I can't wait to see how Rei and Minako's relationship turns out as well. It seems I'm discovering it as it goes along. There are several paths I could follow but I've not reached the crossroads just yet so if you've a preference, now is the time to voice it.

**solareclipse117 –** The story line is truly only just emerging, or what I know of it so far. But good beginnings are often indicative of more good things to come, right? I hope so. :)

**ThrottaKaze – **Mad skillz? Why, thank you! And I'm all about the uppy-downy emotions between the characters. That's how life is, constantly fluctuating

**Immortal Sailor Cosmos –** Late reviews are teh awesomeness. :) Yeah Beryl showing up not such a good thing. They're all a little too screwed up right now. But there's the irony of those four – how they can handle a life threatening situation with clear heads and little difficulty, but can't hold a polite conversation amongst themselves. I checked out your story too, and shall be keeping tabs on it. Keep going!

**Jyuami **– Wow, thanks for all the reviews! I'm sure you understand how awesome it is to log on and find a shwack of love waiting to be read. The "beginning blurbies" will likely kick off the start of each chapter and if not, then some other form of entertaining blurby will be provided. The outers will be making appearances sporadically but won't be too prominent in this story. Honestly, I'm a little iffy about writing them and doing them justice so I'll just stick to tidbits.

**trusuprise** – Thank you! I do endeavour to fool readers into thinking I am mature. Heh heh . . . ehem. More culture shock to come!

**anonymousfan – **In Minako's room, eh? Ah, not this time. I think she receives enough torment at the hands of the blonde.

**LunarMiko **and **noneloveme – **Yeah, a bit of a cliffie there – sorry. At least this update had no cliffie . . . er, and at least I updated at all . . .

**Payne N. Uranus** – . . . Bahahahahaaa!! WOW. Hopefully you've engineered a brilliant and daring escape from Some Island and are, perhaps, sitting inconspicuously in a foreign internet café, checking up on my story, keeping a look out for the fuzz. My imagination did indeed voyage back from the lands which receive adequate sunlight and thus, you have this behemoth of a chapter. Unfortunately, my imagination/muse/brain/whatever, is still a cranky, stubborn bitch and yields inspiration only when bribed with junk food and alcohol, tortured with boring classes, or prodded by particularly peculiar, exceedingly entertaining reviews. An update for my other story is not far off, but after that, it may be another trip into the depths of the dank and dingy hidden basement on Some Island for you. At least this time you'll know that no good will come of telling the men in white that their uniforms make them look fat.

Krampus


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